Sea of Survival
by Kilanna D
Summary: In one universe, Monkey D. "Straw Hat" Luffy gathered a crew of all sorts of characters. In this universe, he'll gather a significantly different crew. These ten new crew mates will follow their insane captain and try to survive all the trouble he drags them in. Welcome to the Crew of Supernovas. HIATUS
1. East Blue Saga Arc 1

**A/N: So this is the first fanfic I'm posting. I've written a few random entries that could possibly turn into larger stories but this one I've actually decided to post. If you read the summary, then you know what the basic premise of this story is: What If the Eleven Supernova's were all on the same pirate crew? (I'll say this now, this does NOT include Blackbeard. While he is part of the worst generation, he isn't actually a Supernova) While the original Straw Hats will be making appearances (they still exist) they won't actually be joining the crew.**

 **So this first chapter is really slow, and I gloss over a lot because it is very similar to cannon with a few key differences. Honestly, the entire the East Blue Saga is kinda slow but it's necessary sooo ya. Anyway, enjoy.**

 **Updated 6/4/19**

* * *

 **East Blue Saga; Arc 1, Romance Dawn: A Chance Encounter and a Rubber Pirate**

Monkey D. Luffy sat in his little dingy, scratching his head at the vista in front of him. It had all been going so well, yet here he was. He'd left Fushia with the townspeople all waving goodbye and giving him good wishes, the mayor grumbling nonsensically, but Luffy knew that was how he showed love. He'd defeated the Lord of the Coast with a single punch and the day had been sunny and clear, no problems in sight. All the way until a giant freaking whirlpool showed up in front of him, that is.

Luffy began paddling intensely, trying to head in the opposite direction of the swirling vortex. Despite his best efforts, the small dingy he was in soon got dangerously close and began succumbing to the intense current. Even Luffy, who'd been known to be a little slow, realized the danger. Looking around his dingy, which was sadly out of food much to Luffy's chagrin, he found only a single empty barrel and nothing else.

"Oh, I know!" Luffy climbed inside the barrel, putting the lid on and curling up into a ball. "Shishishi, barrels float, so now I won't drown." Luffy felt the boat lurch and flip as it sped up, and soon found the tossing and turning relaxing, similar to when he slept on Shanks's ship as a kid. "Maybe I should take a nap."

* * *

Koby didn't have the best of luck. Never had. When he'd been taken by Alvida and her crew he just knew he was going to die as a cabin boy of a pirate ship. But still, it had taken some time for it to really sink in that he would never be a marine.

It was just another day of absolute horror, this time they were attacking a passenger ship. After finally getting up the courage, via some Alvida persuasion, he'd headed onto the ship, deciding to hide in the kitchen. Of course, that was until some boy wearing a straw hat jumped out of a barrel and beat up a few of the crewmen. Now they were hiding in the pantry, Koby keeping an ear out for any incoming crewmates and the strange boy stuffing his face with fruit.

"So, what's happening? We on a pirate ship?"

"A passenger ship that's being raided by pirates. The Alvida Pirates," Koby corrected on instinct. The cabin went quiet, but Koby couldn't take it for long. "Um," Koby began, unsure if this boy was friend or foe. "So, who are you?"

"Oh," he turned to face Koby, a big grin on his face. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy, the man who's going to be King of the Pirates!"

The pink-haired cabin boy took a moment processing the information before scrambling to his feet, eyes wide with shock. "Are you crazy?! That means you're a pirate too." Luffy nodded his head, continuing to stuff his face as Koby exclaimed, "The Pirate King is the man who conquers all the world's seas. He's the man who attains everything this world has to offer. If you want to be the Pirate King, then that means you're searching for this world's ultimate treasure! You're looking for the One Piece!"

"Yeah, that's right."

Koby began shaking his head back and forth violently, "No way, no way, no way. Do you know how many pirates are out there looking for the One Piece? There's too many people that are too strong. It's impossible, impossible, impossible." In a flash, Luffy got up and smacked Koby upside the head, looking on without empathy as Koby clutched his head and demanded to know why he'd been hit.

"I decided long ago that I'd be the Pirate King. If I die trying, then I die. But at least I will have tried."

Koby looked at the strange boy, awe in his eyes. "Do you- do you think I can accomplish my dreams, as well?" The dark-haired boy cocked his head to the side.

"If you try. What do you plan on doing?"

"I want to be a marine! Then I can go around and capture pirates just like Alvida!" Perhaps, Koby realized belatedly, telling a pirate that you wanted to be a marine wasn't a good idea. Koby pushed that thought aside, soon faced with another problem.

"What was that, Koby?" From above them a hole split in the ceiling, wood raining down around them. "Who is it you're going to capture?" Before Koby could stop the shaking in his legs (I'm dead, I'm so _so dead_ ), Luffy had already insulted the behemoth of a woman. The next thing he knew, Koby was on the deck of the ship, watching in shock as Luffy took out the rest of the Alvida Pirates. When Alvida asked him that cursed question, he took one look at the boy in front of him and said the truth. And before his head went flying with her spiked club, Luffy sent her off the rail of the ship.

It was a mere few minutes before Luffy and his new companion were on a stolen boat and were out of sight of the pirate ship. "I'll drop you off at a marine base, 'kay?"

"Th-thank you, Luffy-san. The closest one is at Shells Town. We should be there within a day or so." There was a beat of silence before Koby dared to ask, "H-how did you do that, on the ship?"

"Oh, that? I ate the **Gum-Gum Fruit**. Now, I'm a rubber man!"

"But, I thought that Devil Fruits were just a myth?!" Luffy didn't bother with a true response, just a grin and loud laugh. With that, the two headed towards Shells Town with the marine base waiting for them.

* * *

Shells Town, Koby reflected, was a very strange town. It seemed normal at first, it really did. It was warm and sunny, the street market full of people. Walking down the road, it was clear that having a marine base was doing wonders for the island. That was, until Koby mentioned the captain of the base and everyone took several not-so-subtle steps back looking anywhere but at the young boy.

"That's strange," Koby said, following Luffy as he began looking for a place to eat. "Why would they be afraid of a marine captain?"

"Maybe he's a bad dude."

"That's not possible!" Koby shouted, barely lowering his voice when they entered a pub. "Marines serve Justice. Why would an innocent citizen be afraid of them?"

"I'll take one of everything that's yummy!" Luffy demanded as they sat down, the waitress raising a brow but not commenting. The food, the boys soon found, was rather delicious and they were having a peaceful meal when a young man with blonde hair and a double chin entered the pub. He had several marines following close behind him and he sat down, his feet thumping on the table.

"Yo, barkeep! Bring me some grub and keep the bill." Luffy eyed the blonde, quickly dismissing him as uselessly weak, and focused on the marines. They didn't look like much, all with minimal muscle mass and the simple uniform of marine recruits. Luffy doubted any of them could be all that strong if they were assigned to babysitting duty.

"I'm so bored," the blonde said, "I suppose I could execute that Roronoa. That might be entertaining."

"No! You can't!" The little girl that had brought Luffy and Koby their meal jumped up from where she was sitting at the bar, her face set in a frown.

"Rika, don't!" The bartender said grabbing her and keeping her at the bar.

"You can't kill Onii-chan! You promised him that if he survived the month you'd let him go!"

"What's it to you, girl?" The blonde stood up, the marines behind him shifting uneasily at the motion. "Do you have any idea who I am?"

"I don't care! You made a promise." Rika stuck out her tongue, glaring at the boy and the marines around him. Strange, how such a small child could fit so much anger in her gaze. "Besides, marines shouldn't go around being big bullies!"

"How dare you! I am Helmeppo, the son of Captain Axe-Hand Morgan." He was growing slightly red in the face and he whirled to face the marines that stood straighter at the attention. "You there! Arrest her!" They all stiffened, looking at each other from the corner of their eyes.

"B-but sir! She's just a little girl!" One said, flinching slightly when Helmeppo came up and grabbed the fabric around his neck.

"What did you just say soldier? I gave you an order and you damn well better follow it. Don't make me tell my father!" The soldier paled slightly as he just nodded his head and turned to face the little girl.

Luffy narrowed his eyes, looking between the little girl and the marines. Next to him, Koby clenched his fists, shaking slightly. He went to get up, having no idea what he was going to do just that this had to stop, only to be held back as Luffy stood so fast his chair clattered to the ground. In a flash he was across the room, his fist connecting with a resonating thud against Helmeppo's face. The marine that had been heading for Rika turned around at the sound, his jaw dropping to the ground.

"Luffy! No, don't fight the marines!" Koby grabbed at Luffy's arms, pulling with all his weight.

"Shut up! That girl fed us and she hasn't done anything wrong. This guy is pissing me off!"

"D-do you know what you've done?!" Helmeppo screeched, holding his face that was quickly bruising. "My father will hear about this! I am the son of Captain Axe-Hand Morgan!"

"If your need your dad to fight for you, then I'll just kick his ass first!" The marines surrounding the blonde all choked slightly, staring at the straw hat boy for a moment longer before shaking themselves into action. Within a few moments they'd picked up the young man and left the pub, Helmeppo yelling threats and profanities all the while.

When he was sure Luffy wouldn't take off, Koby released his friend and took a few steps back. He turned to the little girl who, like her mother, simply stood there staring blankly at Luffy. "I'm sorry if we've caused trouble, ma'am."

"Oh!" The bartender shook herself, looking between Koby and Luffy worriedly. "It-it's okay. Thank you for stopping them from taking Rika, but I'm afraid now that you've made an enemy of the captain, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"But mom!" Rika said, looking up at her, "They beat up the mean marine kid."

"The marines may come to get revenge. I can't have them here when that happens, or we could get in trouble." She looked up from her daughter to face the two boys. "I really am sorry."

"Oh, we understand." Koby said, his eye flicking to Luffy whose hat was shadowing his own face. "Luffy? What do you plan on doing?"

"I'm going to go kick that captain's ass." The pirate turned on his heel and walked away, the door slamming shut behind him. Without another word, Koby ran after him, afraid of what he might do. Catching up quickly, Koby took one look at Luffy's shadowed eyes, his customary grin long gone, and chose to remain silent.

Facing forward again, Koby replayed the scene in his head. The marines, the men who were charged with protecting Justice and the citizens, had just stood there and _done nothing_. They'd let that twig of a blonde bully and harass the citizens simply because he was the son of a marine. He wasn't even a marine himself! Koby growled low in his throat, swearing that if-no- _when_ he became a marine, he would never allow something like that to happen.

Koby jumped slightly at the weight that appeared on his head. Looking up, he saw Luffy grinning down at him, face as open and carefree as it usually was.

"Don't worry Koby! I'll kick that marine guy's ass, then you can join up no problem."

"I really don't think it's going to be that easy, Luffy-kun." Koby sweat-dropped a little, wondering idly if Luffy had any idea how marine ranks worked. Or, how the world worked.

"'Course it is." Luffy walked on, not a care in the world as he headed to fight a marine captain.

It didn't take long to get to the marine base. After all, it wasn't like they had to look hard for it when it was larger than half the town and sat on a small hill. The blue and black walls were perfectly smooth and spotless, and the air was filled with shouting and grunting. Despite the noise, there was no one at the gate or anywhere within sight of the two boys.

"Damn, I need to find the captain guy." Luffy scratched his head, his hat shifting with the motion. Looking around, Luffy grabbed on to the wall that surrounded the base, pulling himself up so he could look around.

"Why aren't there any marines around here?" Koby wondered out loud, not noticing Luffy's new location for a few moments.

"Hey, Koby! There's someone tied up in the courtyard." The pinkette looked up, not even bothering to be surprised at Luffy standing on the wall.

"You know, now that you mention it, I seem to recall hearing a rumor that Roronoa Zoro got captured around here." Koby climbed up on the wall, wriggling so he could get a good look at what had caught his companion's eyes.

And there he was. The pirate hunter himself. Koby recognized him easily, having heard Alvida talk about him because she was worried he'd come for her head. The green-haired man was without his swords and tied up to a cross, his eyes shadowed by the black bandana around his head.

"There are no marines around here." Koby looked around, realizing Luffy was right. Before he could comment on it, Luffy made an odd noise that had Koby following his line of sight to the roof of the marine base. It took a few seconds, but Koby could see moving forms and guessed that was where the shouting was coming from.

"I'll be right back Koby! Just let me go kick the marine's ass." The pinkette blinked and the straw hat wearing boy was gone, his back disappearing around the bend. It took a few seconds, but soon enough Koby heard the snap of rubber followed by yells of shock. Guessing Luffy would be alright, Koby made his way over the wall and towards the demon in front of him. He ignored his slight shaking and squared his shoulders. He _would_ be a marine, and that meant he had to be brave.

* * *

Luffy was a little surprised when he flew up to the roof and found a giant statue. He over shot his **rocket** and grabbed onto the head of the statue, but his speed was too much, and a long crack ran across the stone. The top half fell, crashing onto the ground below as Luffy landed lightly on the roof, hand securing his hat.

"That was fun!" The young pirate took a look around, noticing the two dozen or so marines, all standing around and gapping at Luffy. "So which one of you is the captain?"

"That's him daddy! That's the guy who hit me!" The blonde was on the corner of the roof, pointing one shaky hand at Luffy.

"How dare you!" Luffy looked up from where he'd been eyeing the idiot, watching as a large man with an axe in place of his hand quickly turned an ugly shade of red. The colour kind of reminded him of when he told Gramps he was going to be a pirate. "I am Captain Axe-Hand Morgan! I am the greatest! You just defiled a symbol of my strength and the punishment is death!" Luffy took one look at the man, at how he left his stomach wide open as he spoke and gestured and figured he would have no issue with kicking the guy's ass.

Gramps and, in the past two days, Koby, often spoke of the greatness of the marines and their job of dealing Justice. This man, missing an arm and so filled with images of his own ego that he couldn't even be bothered to block properly, made a mockery of what the marines were meant to be. Just because he was Monkey D. Luffy, future Pirate King, didn't mean he couldn't understand the purpose of marines. But, this man was no true marine.

"I'm Luffy, nice to meet ya." Morgan didn't seem to appreciate the sass because in the next instant he was lunging forward, swinging his axe arm down. The rest of the marines scrambled out of the way, mostly going back inside the building. Luffy side stepped the swipe, stretching his arm back only to shoot it forward at the captain's face.

" **Gum-Gum Pistol**!" The marine went flying, landing on his back on the other side of the roof.

"Di-did he just stretch?!" The few marines still on the roof watching the fight took several steps back, faces full of fear. Meanwhile, Morgan stood up, reevaluating the scrawny kid in front of him.

"So, they're real," he mumbled, raising his voice so the rest of his men could hear him, he continued, "He ate a Devil-Fruit."

Luffy just grinned, stretching his cheek far past where it would normally go. "I'm a rubber man." That being said, it didn't seem that the marine captain cared much, as he came forward again, sweeping his axe towards Luffy's midriff. The rubber man jumped into the air, avoiding the attack and allowing him to counter attack by putting his legs together and jabbing them downward.

" **Gum-Gum Spear**!" Morgan tried to move out of the way but wasn't quick enough, the attack catching his chest instead of his head. Before he had a chance to recover, Luffy was back on the ground, his arm shooting forward and sending the marine captain off the side of the building and to the ground waiting below.

" **Gum-Gum Pistol**!" As Luffy stood there, not even sweating or breathing heavily, the rest of the marines took a moment to take in what they'd just seen. Before long, a cheer rose as they all threw their hats into the air.

"We're finally free!"

Luffy, slightly confused, shrugged his shoulders and grabbed onto one edge of the roof, **rocketing** off and into the field below. Koby had finished untying the green-haired man, who had begun to walk towards the marine base.

"Where are you going?" Koby called, looking slightly worried.

"To get my swords." The man looked over, his face set in a grin that would make lesser men tremble. "I have a swordsman to catch." With that he was gone, entering the marine base as if he belonged there and Luffy turned back to Koby.

"Who was that?"

"That was Roronoa Zoro, the bounty hunter. He said he was looking for Hawkeye, so I told him I'd heard that Hawkeye was near the entrance to the Grand Line. Guess he's heading after him." Luffy didn't respond for a moment, deciding that he really didn't care what this dude was doing.

"Well, I kicked the marine captain's ass, so you can go join now!" Koby gapped a little, looking over towards the marine base where he could just make out some marines celebrating.

Koby felt tears welling up and he looked at Luffy. "Thank you so much Luffy! I won't ever forget this!"

"Shishishi! I don't think marines are supposed to thank pirates." Luffy grinned, starting to back up and wave. "Well, I gotta get out of here before they realize I'm a pirate. But take care Koby, I'm sure we'll see each other again." Koby nodded, watching as his friend disappeared from sight. He headed quickly over to the entrance of the marine base. He had a dream to fulfill, after all.

* * *

Luffy liked the town. It was cool. Word spread quickly that Morgan had been defeated and everyone was in a good mood, so it was easy to get lots of meat for the trip. Loading up his small boat with all the food he'd gotten, he took one last look at the island and set off.

As he was leaving the island, he realized that he probably should have asked someone to join him. After all, you couldn't be a pirate without a crew. Whoever he decided to put on his crew had to be strong, though. He'd promised Shanks, after all.

"Maybe I should have asked that Zoro-guy to join. He seemed strong. Oh well, too late now." He turned to the bag of food and began eating a bunch of it, thinking of all the sorts of people he wanted on his crew.

"A chef comes first," he decided. He needed someone to cook him delicious meat. "And then I'll find a musician!"

With the goal of finding his first crewmates in mind, he set off in a random direction, sure that he would make it somewhere with good food if he let the ocean guide him.

* * *

 **Please review! I would love to hear your thoughts on this and if you find any mistakes please let me know so I can fix it. And don't worry, Zoro will be joining the crew, just not until later down the line.**

 **Until next time Kittens!**

 ** **Next Time:****

 **East Blue Saga; Arc 2, The Baratie: Bottomless Pit One and Two**


	2. East Blue Saga Arc 2

**A/N: Hello Kittens! Wow, there was a lot of love for the first chapter. Don't know why, it was mainly just a glossover of cannon. Guess you guys just really like the premise. Either way, thank you so much for all the follows and favorites. Also huge shout out to KnightLawn, DefendtheUndefended, and proudsmile for reviewing. Thank you all for taking the time to read and review. I've decided that I'll PM to respond to reviews unless they're done as guests in which case I'll answer them in one of these author notes. I know I don't like to scroll through all the review answers but if you guys want me to, I can answer them all in the Post A/N.**

 **Also, if you guys want something with a similar premise go check out Phalanx and their** _ **In Five Pieces**_ **and** _ **The Supernova Eleven**_ **. I think they dropped them but what's written is really good. I've rambled on for long enough, enjoy the second chapter that I think is a little more interesting.**

 **Update 6/4/19**

* * *

 **East Blue Saga; Arc 2, the Baratie: Bottomless Pit One and Two**

It had only been three days since leaving Shells town, but Luffy was starving. By afternoon on day two, he had eaten all the food and he wasn't having any luck fishing. His little ship drifted in the water, a sky with minimal clouds his only company. It was nearing dinner time, as Luffy's stomach reminded him, when he spotted the giant fish sitting on the water.

Paddling closer, it took a few moments for Luffy to register what the giant fish really was. "FOOD!" Not even hesitating, Luffy stretched out his arm and grabbed hold of the railing of the floating restaurant, his legs wrapping around the little mast on his ship, so he could pull both himself and his boat into the docking area.

In a few moments he was bursting through the doors of the sea restaurant, not bothering to read the sign proclaiming the place the _Baratie_. A tall blonde man, his hair covering one of his eyes and wearing a clean, black suit, came up to the door.

"Just you? Right this way." Luffy followed the man to a small table in a back corner of the room, making his order as he walked.

"I'm starving! I'll take one of everything please!" The blonde lifted a swirly eyebrow but said nothing as he went into what Luffy assumed was the kitchen. It only took few minutes before the first dish was brought out, and thus began the ugliest consumption of food that the _Baratie_ had ever seen. The plates of food kept coming regularly, the pile of clean plates next to Luffy piling ever higher. The entire building stared in avid disgust as Luffy literally became bloated.

It wasn't until the very last plate had been cleaned of food, that a tall man with buff arms and an apron came to speak with Luffy.

"Hello you dirty scoundrel, how will you be paying this evening?"

"I'm going to have to give you an I.O.U. I'm flat broke! Shishishi." Luffy grinned before he burped loudly. "That was delicious though! Hey, who's the cook? I want them to join my pirate crew."

A vein twitched on the chef's forehead as he pulled his foot back and kicked Luffy's chair hard enough to send the boy flying into the ceiling. "We don't take I.O.U.!"

On the other side of the ceiling, Luffy sat rubbing his behind as an old man in a ridiculously tall chef hat stood from the rubble that had been his bedroom floor, a trickle of blood running down the side of his face.

"What the bloody hell was that?"

"Ahh!" Luffy scrambled to his feet only to bow at the old man, "I'm sorry old geezer! The man downstairs kicked me up here, I swear this wasn't my fault!" Before Zeff could ask what the young man was rambling on about, Patty and a few other of the chefs came barging into the room, each pushing another to get there first.

"Head Chef Zeff!"

"The little shit injured the Head Chef."

"And he didn't even pay for his meal!"

"Shut up, the lot of you!" Zeff yelled, effectively silencing the babbling. "Patty, explain what the hell happened."

"The shitty customer nearly ate out the stores and then said he couldn't pay. So I taught him his place."

"Is his place putting a hole in my floor?!" In the next instant Zeff was spinning on his hands and his feet were planted firmly in Patty's stomach, sending the chef flying back into the hallway. "Get out! All of you, get back to work!" In a few moments the room was empty save for the two pirates.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Zeff gave the brat a once over. "So, you can't pay, huh?"

"Nope! Shishishi, but I'll pay you back after I steal some treasure."

Zeff huffed a snort, "So, you're a pirate then." It wasn't phrased like a question, but Luffy nodded his head anyway. "Well, we don't take I.O.U.s."

"Yeah, the big guy said the same thing." Luffy's bottom lip went out in a pout. It hadn't worked with Daddan, but some of the restaurant's in Goa used to feel bad for him when he'd given them a pout and looked miserable.

"As payment you can work here as our new chore-boy."

The pout quickly turned into a frown before settling into his usual grin. "Okay, I guess that works."

"So, it's agreed. You will work here, unpaid, for a whole year."

"I will work here, unpaid, for a whole ye- Wait what?!" Luffy's mind caught up to what was being said and he started shaking his head, holding up a single finger. At Zeff's lifted eyebrow, Luffy explained. "I can only work here for one week."

"Do you know how much damage you've done? It can't be paid in a single week."

"Fine, two weeks."

"Freaking beansprout! Get to work!"

Needless to say, Zeff would soon come to realize that Luffy was not meant to be a chore-boy. In fact, the only thing Luffy was meant to be was a gluttounous bottomless pit.

After the first day, the chefs soon found that Luffy was capable of only the simplest of tasks. They'd started by letting the boy do what he pleased. They all assumed that someone that was so eager to pay off their debt would get right to work. Oh, how wrong they were.

It wasn't until the end of the second day that they realized what the boy had been doing the entire time; _absolutely nothing._ Which was when they started giving him some more instructions. Take out the trash; it was done easily without any problems, so they thought the boy had hope but there was only so much garbage. Sweep the floor; well it got swept, but all the dirt ended up in piles in the middle of the floor that were never picked up, so they'd tried something else. Do the dishes; this is where things got intense. Every dish the boy touched was broken into tiny shards, and he didn't even seem to register that he was doing it.

Which is how Luffy ended up being told to bring the food out to the tables. When he stepped up to a plate, taking a bite because it just looked so tasty, the door to the kitchen burst open and in came Patty, yelling at the top of his lungs.

"Get a move on! We got a paying customer that wants everything on the menu three times over!"

Everyone paused for a moment, looking at Patty. "You sure they can pay this time?" someone dared to ask.

"Didn't you idiots hear me? I said a paying customer!" Like a bomb had been set off, everyone went into high gear, each shouting what they would take care of before rushing to start the preparations. Luffy finished the plate in his hand and walked out of the kitchen, no one even noticing him.

The dining hall had only a few empty tables, most of which formed a circle in the middle of which sat a tall, pink-haired woman. Chefs were already starting to exit the kitchen, bringing plates of food as they did so. The woman wasted no time in stuffing her face, usurping Luffy as the messiest eater the sea restaurant had ever seen.

The tall blonde man that Luffy had heard called Sanji twirled up to the lady, dropping off a few more plates, but unlike the other chefs he stayed by the woman's side. Luffy caught the tail end of a few sentences before moving closer to catch the rest.

"… lovely lady like you."

"I don't… bring me… food."

"Oh gladly! I am your…"

"This is good. What did you use for seasoning?"

"Oh, I tried using garlic and oregano in the sauce. You like it?"

"Yeah, can I get the recipe from you?"

"You cook?" Luffy asked, jumping into the conversation as he came nearer the table, grabbing a chicken leg from a plate and stuffing it into his face as Bonney let out an indignant squawk. The girl reached towards her waistband where a pistol sat but before she could draw, and before Luffy received an answer, the door to the restaurant burst open and a tall lanky man came in. Their conversation, and Bonney's intent to shoot, forgotten, they both regarded the scene with mild interest.

"Bring me food, I don't care what it is." The man's foot thumbed on the table and somewhere in the building whispers started.

"Is that…?"

"It is. It's Ghin."

"Who?"

"Idiot, he's Don Krieg's right-hand man."

"Don Krieg?! As in the ruler of the East Blue?"

"And how will you be paying this evening?" Patty asked, coming up to the man and receiving a gun to his face in response. The following scuffle was quick and ended with the feared Krieg Pirate being thrown out the back. When Luffy, who'd been watching this all without judgement, turned back to the table, Sanji had disappeared into the kitchen.

Bonney seemed to regard the kitchen with renewed interest, before turning back to stuffing her face. In a few moments the old geezer was yelling at Luffy to get back to work and he was dragged away before he could get a cook for his crew.

It was the next morning when things went downhill. The pink-haired woman was still there, Sanji flirting with her whenever they weren't sharing recipes. It seemed cooking was the only thing the chef cared for more than hitting on the woman. Luffy was walking into the dining area, long limbs stealing food from passing plates that were being taken to the glutton, when someone began to scream.

"It's Don Krieg! The hourglasses means our time is up!" A huge galleon came into view, tattered sails and broken figure head painting an image of a ghost ship. In the next instant, Don Krieg himself and Ghin walked through the door, only to collapse and beg for food. Sanji fed them, despite the other chefs protesting, only to have the pirate stand and demand the ship they were standing on. Every customer fled, each getting on the various ships docked at the restaurant and getting away as fast as the wind would let them. Soon it was just the chefs, all of which had surrounded Sanji with various weapons, Luffy and Bonney.

From where he was standing near Bonney, Luffy watched on impassively, not taking an interest until the glutton got up and made her way to the kitchen doorway. She looked at Zeff, who was just pushing the door open and Luffy heard her say, "You'll need help to feed that many people. But I expect this to clear my tab, yeah?"

It was a mere few minutes when Zeff and Bonney exited the kitchen again, a large, delicious smelling bag in hand. Krieg left, his threat hanging in the air as the rest of the chefs got ready for battle. Luffy headed out onto the deck with the rest of the restaurant staff, Bonney coming up behind him. When the straw hat wearing boy saw the state of Krieg and his crew and a sudden idea hit him.

"Hey, old man!" Zeff turned to look at him, the wood beneath him creaking at the movement. "If I defeat Krieg, my debts paid, yeah?"

The chef seemed to consider this for a moment before nodding his head. "Okay chore-boy, you manage to get them to leave my ship alone and I'll let you off."

As they'd been talking, the Don's men had made their way over to the _Baratie_ and with a curse, Sanji commanded the fins be raised. Within the next few moments, large platforms floated on the sea, a battleground of wood and nails.

Pearl, a large man with even larger metal shields, engaged in a battle with Sanji, the cook's legs strong enough to break the pirate's nose. The fire from Pearl spread quickly, but Zeff's own kick was enough to put it out. Within the next few moments, Pearl was sprawled unconscious on the deck.

Luffy, satisfied that the cooks could take care of themselves, got ready to **rocket** over to the Don, only to stop when a hand landed on his shoulder.

"That Krieg has broken the pirate code, and he's a disgrace. He needs a beating." Bonney shrugged a shoulder, her long hair shifting with the movement. "Besides, these guys have great food. I'd hate for this restaurant to be closed down."

Luffy gave her a look over before nodding his head, **rocketing** to the other ship with the pink-haired woman hanging on his back. Landing on the ship, they both came face to face with Don Krieg, the pirate ruler of the East Blue. Before the man could so much as begin to gloat, Luffy began releasing attacks, punches and kicks doing seemingly nothing to the pirate captain.

"You can't hurt me! My armor is impenetrable." Before any more attacks could be launched, another voice rang out across the water.

"Stop moving or I'll blow his head off!" Looking over, everyone could see Zeff laying on his face, Ghin kneeling on him with a gun pressed to the back of Zeff's head.

"Ahahaha! That's great Ghin. Blow his head off." Krieg was ignored, Ghin looking at Sanji who, despite the injuries he'd already received, was standing tall and smoking as if he didn't have a care in the world.

"Stand down Sanji. Just go and no one will get hurt."

"Little too late for that, don't you think?" Sanji dropped his cigarette, stomping it out before speaking again. "I know you don't want to do this."

"Ghin!" Krieg yelled, "Shoot the bastard!"

In another universe, everyone would have found that Ghin's sense of gratitude outweighed his sense of loyalty to the Don, but in this world he would never get the chance to make the choice. For in the next instant, a small child sat where Ghin had been moments before, a pistol too large for his hands clattering to the ground.

"Damn, that took a lot of energy. He's just on the edge of my range." Luffy grinned at Bonney, his eyes shining.

"Did you do that?! That's awesome!" She just shrugged, watching as the chefs picked up the kid and tied him up, all with very confused faces.

"It won't last very long 'cause I didn't put much energy into it and he's nearly out of range, but I like the old guy, so I figured I'd help him out."

"You ate a devil fruit?" Krieg's voice brought them back to the situation, Bonney and Luffy both nodding.

"Uh," Bonney began, giving Luffy an odd look. "I think he was just asking me."

"Oh." It was Luffy's turn to shrug, "Well, I ate the **Gum-Gum Fruit** so now I'm a rubber man."

"Rubber? Wow, that's weird."

"You just turned Ghin into a kid!" Luffy pouted slightly at his companion before turning back to his opponent. "Whatever, it's super cool. Just watch." With that, Luffy pulled back his arm, shooting it forward with a snap.

" **Gum-Gum Pistol**!" Krieg, believing in his armor, didn't even try to dodge as the rubber fist drilled into his stomach. The pirate Don gasped in pain and surprise as his armor cracked under the pressure and he went flying. When he got back up, Luffy and Bonney busy talking about the pros and cons of rubber, he opened fired at them, bullets shooting out of his gauntlets. Bonney's figure shrunk, all the bullets flying above her as Luffy just let the bullets bounce right back towards the sender.

Luffy and Krieg engaged, both dodging and sending attacks in a chaotic dance that was hard to keep track of until Luffy sent a punch towards Krieg's face, only to hit an old man with sagging skin and creaking bones. Luffy hopped back to Bonney's side, giving her a pout.

"Oh, come on! How am I supposed to fight an old man that can barely move?"

"Who cares how old he is?! This way is easier." After a few moments of Krieg cursing them and Luffy pouting, the cook relented, stating, "Finish this quickly or I'm turning him into a two-year-old and throwing him into the water."

Luffy nodded, pulling back his arms just to send them forward at the same time Krieg reverted to his normal age. Before the Don could use a weapon from his arsenal, rubbery arms hit him straight in the gut, expelling all his air as he went flying only to land in the water with a loud splash. Thus ended the rule of the Pirate Don Krieg.

Back on the _Baratie_ , the remainder of the Krieg Pirates were all in various states of defeat, each too weak to fight back properly after weeks of starving. **Rocketing** back to the fins, that were slightly destroyed, Luffy and Bonney excessed the damage before turning to Zeff who was ordering the chefs to get a move on cleaning everything up.

"So, my debts paid, right geezer?" The old man nodded, giving Luffy an appreciative look before turning back to ordering his chefs around.

"So Bonney, welcome to my crew. Oh, I'm Monkey D. Luffy, the man who's gonna be the Pirate King!" Bonney blinked quickly, trying to process what the kid before her was saying. Ignoring the blatantly false second statement, she focused on the first.

"What makes you think I'm joining your crew?"

"You're a cook, right? Well I need one, and your powers are really funny, so I've decided that your going to join me." Luffy grinned, stepping to the side as a chef came to pick up a Krieg Pirate that had been laying at his feet.

"Idiot! You can't just decide someone is going to join you." Bonney slapped him upside the head, it doing little to the rubber man.

"Oh, come on. Come be a pirate with me!" Bonney hit him again but didn't respond, instead taking in the boy in front of her. She doubted he could really make it to be the Pirate King, not with people out there like the Yonko. Besides, Old Man Whitebeard was closest to Raftel, even if he didn't want the title. And yet, he certainly seemed like an interesting fellow. Whitebeard always had said to find a crew to be a part of, even if it had nothing to do with the reason she'd set out to sea. Besides, what harm could come from following an idiot like this? If things got dicy, she would leave.

"Okay." Luffy jumped up, laughing as Bonney just worried about what she'd gotten herself into. "So, what next... Captain?"

"Well," he started, holding his straw hat as he spoke, "We need a ship. Then we need to head into the Grand Line for our next adventure."

"I have a ship." Her captain looked like it was Christmas morning, his eyes were shining so bright. "Her name is the _White Wolf_." Bonney gestured to one of the last ships still attached to the _Baratie_. It seemed to be a caravel, a single main mast with a white sail standing in the center of a light brown wood deck. She seemed simple enough, though Luffy immediately wanted to sit on the giant white wolf that was her figure head.

"That is so cool! Now we can head straight to the Grand Line!" Before Bonney could comment that it might be best to get a few more members before heading into the worst sea on the planet, Sanji came up and asked to speak to Bonney.

Leaving her new captain to explore the ship, the two cooks headed into the floating restaurant.

* * *

Two hours later, the _White Wolf_ was loaded with enough provisions for two people for a fortnight, Sanji claiming that a woman as beautiful as Bonney would need to be able to take care of her and her captain. With final goodbyes, the _White Wolf_ and her two shipmates set sail.

"Woah! To the Grand Line."

"Luffy do you have any idea how dangerous the Grand Line is?" A blank expression was her answer and she stifled the urge to hit him upside the head again. "It's dangerous to go just the two of us. We should stay in the East Blue and at least _try_ to recruit others to join us."

Luffy pouted a little but eventually grinned with a laugh. "Shishishi, we can go on a few adventures here, but after that we'll head to the Grand Line." Bonney just sighed and accepted that was the best she was going to get. Somehow, she doubted that her new captain ever thought things through. "But first," Bonney looked to Luffy, who had somehow found paints and a black piece of fabric in the last few moments. "We need a Jolly Roger. Every good ship has a flag." Bonney thought that the marking he held up was supposed to be a skull with a straw hat on it, but it was hard to tell. Shaking her head at his hideous painting skills, she took another piece of fabric and, in a few minutes, a Jolly Roger was born.

After painting their new mark on the mainsail, Bonney prepared a meal and did what all pirates did; had a party to celebrate the beginning of their pirate crew. It wasn't until the next morning when Bonney asked for a heading that she realized what she had gotten into. Luffy had the navigational skills of a walnut and told Bonney to "head for the greatest adventure". Deciding to play it safe, the cook and now navigator-by-default headed towards Orange Town, hoping that she would get used to her captain before she began thinking about mutiny. She might be a pirate, but she still lived by the code.

* * *

 **A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Read and Review please!**

 **Until next time Kittens!**

 **Next Time:**

 **Mini Series- Checking in with the World, Chapter 1; The Newest Staff**


	3. Chapter of Sanji

**A/N: Hi kittens! I have a lot to say so I'm going to put most of it at the end, just wanted to explain this chapter a little first. So kinda like how Oda does cover stories, every now and again I'm going to have chapters that are kinda Omakes and just check in with others and not the actual Straw Hats. Most of the ones I have planned are for the cannon Straw Hats and these chapters can be either super short- like this one- or the same length as the rest of the chapters.**

 **Also, can't believe I've forgotten to do this but;**

 **DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT, NOR WILL I EVER, OWN ONE PIECE, IT'S PLOT, OR IT'S CHARACTERS. HOWEVER, I DO OWN EVERYTHING ELSE THAT HAS TO DO WITH THIS STORY.**

 **Updated 6/4/19**

* * *

 **Mini Series- Checking in with the World, Chapter 1; The Newest Staff**

Sanji watched the wolf figure head disappear over the horizon, turning around only to run into the old chef. The blonde met his mentor's eyes, lifting a brow at his gaze.

"You could have gone with them." There was no room to argue, not with the gaze that was being levelled. "You could have achieved your dream."

"Don't worry, you old geezer. I'll find out if the All Blue exists, but I'll do it while staying right here." Zeff's eyes narrowed at what the implication meant.

* * *

" _So, you have all the food you'll need to get to the next island. If you end up running low, just start rationing and you should be fine."_

 _Bonney nodded, coming down from where she'd dropped off the food in the kitchen of the_ White Wolf. _She could tell there was something else the cook wanted from her, it was obvious with the way he kept shifting and how he'd gone through five cigarettes in the last half hour._

" _If you would do something for me?" Bonney nodded and waited for him to elaborate, watching her captain talk to Red Leg Zeff from the corner of her eye. "Have you heard of the All Blue?" Bonney again nodded, one pink eyebrow lifted in surprise. Most thought the place a myth, nothing more than a fantasy some spent their entire lives searching for. "I think it's somewhere in the Grand Line. If you find it while you're out there, will you come tell me about it?" Strange request, and one she normally wouldn't care to fulfill. She_ was _a pirate. But Sanji was almost like a friend so..._

" _You could join us. I don't think the captain would mind."_

" _No. I need to stay here. Someone has to take care of the geezer." Bonney regarded him, noting how he hadn't hit on her in the last few minutes. Luffy chose that moment to bounce up, wrapping his rubbery arms around Bonney as he said goodbye to Sanji and demanded they get going to the next adventure._

" _We'll come back to visit."_

" _Oh, how I await the day I get to see you again, my fair lady!" Bonney saw the way he nodded his thanks to her, knowing that in that one sentence she'd agreed to search for his dream in his place. She would, too. During her own search for_ him _, she would find the All Blue. It was repayment for the food, she told herself. And not at all because she was going soft._

* * *

"Like hell you're going to get rid of me that easily." Sanji had known Zeff for a long time and recognized, though he'd never tell the geezer, that he was smart and could figure out the way Sanji thought easily enough.

Before the retired pirate could comment on the idiocy of his eggplant, one of the chefs came running up.

"The Krieg Pirates woke up. What do you want us to do with them?"

The head and sous chefs made their way to the three dozen or so pirates that they had tied up in their dining room. "We could turn them over to the marines," Sanji suggested, lighting another cigarette and blowing it into the face of a few men that were struggling.

"Hmm," Zeff's hand went down his mustache, the braids bouncing back up when he released them. "Or we could put them to work." A few of the chefs let out indignant shrieks but Sanji considered the men in front of them.

"We do need some waiters that can fight and won't run at the first sign of trouble."

Zeff looked down at Ghin. The pirate looked into the offer in those eyes and nodded his head. The only other option was death at the hands of the marines and he'd much rather work with the chefs that had saved his life.

"I'm willing, but I won't force the others to work here."

An hour later, the _Baratie_ had a new staff and by the next day, was open for business once again.

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, so first off, thank you for reading and please review, I love hearing from you guys. So I just want to address some things that people have commented on.**

 **First, people have asked about Zoro. He will be joining, he's a supernova so it's guaranteed, I just wanted to try to do something different with him, and play with how his place in the crew would change. I got this idea from Phalanx cause he changed when Zoro joined but I'm having him join at a different place.**

 **This brings me to the second point. I've already decided when all the supernovas will join and what their job on the crew will be. Well, most of them are rock solid, though a few are more flexible and up for shifting. Two are joining in original arcs. Can you guys guess who joins when and what their job will be? You already have two so you just have to guess nine.**

 **Next is the thing about Bonney and Whitebeard. So I read the manga every week (SIDE NOTE: DID YOU READ THE LATEST CHAPTER? ODA GIVE ME MORE PLEASE) and I also subscribe to a lot of different theories that I think make the most sense and considering the mysteries surrounding the supernovas, I'll be using some of these. If Oda comes out and gives the information, I'll adjust the story as is necessary. If you guys want my reasoning on specific things- like the thing with Bonney and Whitebeard- comment and I'll respond with an answer.**

 **I can't think of anything else so I'll end this obnoxiously long author's note. Thanks for taking the time to read this. Until next time, Kittens!**

 **Next Time:**

 **East Blue Saga; Arc 3, Orange Town: The Circus is in Town**


	4. East Blue Saga Arc 3

**A/N: Hey Kittens! Turns out I have the self-control of a cat and decided to go ahead and post this chapter because the last one was short and this one was already done. Also, thank you all so much for the comments and favorites/kudos. It means a lot that you all are enjoying this.**

 **By the way, if you are also a fan of Gotham, go check out "The Prison in Your Mind" by EvelynShadows out on ao3. Really great story and she has more time than me, so she posts way more often. Anyway, enjoy the next chapter!**

 **Updated 6/4/19**

* * *

 **East Blue Saga; Arc 3, Orange Town: The Circus is in Town**

"Bonney! Food!" The shout was not uncommon in the following three days after leaving the _Baratie_. Between the two gluttons, the food stores were quickly going down and Bonney was glad when she checked their course and realized that they would be arriving in Orange Town that very day. But first, brunch (also what Bonney had dubbed "second breakfast") needed to be served.

Over the past few days, the two new companions had taken the time to get used to each other, as well as learn the basics of their strengths and weaknesses. It seemed Bonney's Devil Fruit, the **Age-Age Fruit** , allowed her to send peoples' ages either forward or backward in time. This not only change their physical appearance but also reverted their biology and psychology to those ages as well. She could only affect people that were in her range and, depending on how much energy she put in to it, the effects lasted only so long. Using her Devil Fruit also fed on her carbs, meaning she needed to keep eating to make sure she had the energy when they got into a battle.

Luffy, on the other hand, could stretch and use his powers however much he wanted without consequences. However, Bonney soon came to realize that he wasn't the smartest person and didn't think things through much. She'd had to stop him from falling into the ocean on multiple occasions. Honestly, she was starting to wonder if his rubber brain just couldn't absorb information as well as a normal brain. Though his Devil Fruit did mean she could hit him upside the head as much as she wanted without fearing punishment. Not that he ever would punish her, but Bonney still thought of him as a captain and most captains didn't take well to being hit by their subordinates.

"Hey Bonney!" Said woman poked her head out of the kitchen to look at her companion. "There's a huge bird! Think you could cook it?"

"Well, probably but we still have food in the stor-" Before she could finish her sentence Luffy had already **rocketed** into the sky, only for the bird to latch onto his head.

"YOU IDIOT!" Turning off the stove, she took note of where the bird was flying off to- luckily in the direction of Orange Town- and began releasing the sails, trying to gain as much speed as possible. She just hoped he wouldn't do anything too stupid before she got there.

On her way there, three heads bobbed in the water, each waving to get her attention. Taking a moment to tsk in annoyance at her luck, she yelled, "I'm not stopping!" In a scramble they were out of the way of the ship, fear giving them strength and speed. As the _White Wolf_ continued on her warpath, Bonney saw the three heads pop out of the water behind her, all sputtering and yelling obscenities. As if she would stop to help strangers. Did they not see the Jolly Roger?

Bonney made a third of the time it would've taken to reach Orange Town going at normal speeds, winds and the current in her favour. Docking the small ship easily, Bonney got off her ship in time to see a row of houses be blown to bits with a resounding bang.

The cook began making her way to where she believed the cannon fire had come from. Somehow, she had a feeling that was where she would find her captain.

* * *

Really, it wasn't Luffy's fault. After he'd spotted land beneath him, he'd punched the freaking bird that had chomped on his head and it dropped him in the middle of a group of people. The redhead, Nami, had explained that a group of pirates had taken over the town and the townspeople had long since evacuated.

Luffy contemplated asking her to join his crew but guessed she hated pirates by the way she reacted when she realized that he was a pirate. Which just didn't make sense, who didn't want to be a pirate? He was just about to get up and go search for Bonney when Nami had asked for his help. Figuring she had fed him and so he owed her, he'd agreed. He hadn't realized that he would be tied up and put in a cage. And worse, he was so hungry that all of the food in front of him, food he couldn't reach despite trying, was just making his growling stomach worse. And then the idiot clown had asked Nami to blow him up.

He'd seen what those Buggy Balls could do and with how he was in the cage he couldn't fight back. But he'd also seen the way Nami hesitated and remembered her saying she hated pirates. When she'd tried to stop them from blowing him up, he was a little surprised that she could actually fight well, though he knew she wouldn't stand a chance against anyone stronger than a grunt.

Which is why he was extremely glad when the entire Buggy Crew turned into a bunch of old men and crying toddlers.

"Bonney!"

"Really Captain?" She walked up to his cage, bending down to look at him in the eyes. "First you get taken by a giant bird and the next thing I know you're in a cage about to be blown to pieces by a cannonball. How the hell did this happen?"

"Look, it's not my fault." His cook raised an eyebrow that begged to differ, and he heard a two-year-old Buggy crying about how this Devil Fruit was clearly broken. "Really! I came to help out Nami and then they put me in a cage."

"Nami?"

"That would be me. By the way, what just happened?" The redhead looked completely confused, her eyes wide as she regarded Bonney. Without responding, Bonney turned her captain into a toddler, the ropes falling away as his small body slipped through the bars of the cage. In the next instant, he was back to his normal age. And so was the enemy pirate crew.

"Shit! Time to scram Luffy." Luffy nodded and wrapped an arm around the two women next to him, Nami looking even more horrified as his arm stretched and Bonney paling considerably.

"No, Luffy! We can run normally you know." Straw Hat just grinned, his eyes lighting up at the excitement as he **rocketed** down into town, the three companions landing in a heap. "Idiot!" Luffy's head bobbed at the hit and he began whining that it was much faster than running normally. Meanwhile, Nami was dusting herself off, muttering about insanity all the while.

"What the hell are you people?"

Luffy turned to the redhead, grinning the entire time. "We're Devil Fruit eaters. I'm a rubber man!" Before she could comment on the stretching cheek that did in fact look like rubber, a roar shook the ground and Nami screamed as she lost her footing, stumbling into Bonney who looked just as surprised.

"So, you're the idiots that pissed off the captain." A white-haired man who sat on a large lion walked closer, the ground vibrating with every step. The man seemed unimpressed as he regarded the trio and he snorted before ordering the lion to attack.

Bonney grabbed Nami and pulled them both away from the attack, Luffy jumping into the air and attacking in the next instant.

" **Gum-Gum Spear**!" Richie moved to the side so fast that his rider was thrown into the path of the attack, his face hitting the stone road with a crack that had Nami flinching. Before the lion could run for cover, Luffy's arm stretched back, twisting around itself before being shot forward with a burst, effectively ending the battle, if it could even be called that.

" **Gum-Gum Rifle**!" The lion lay there twitching, letting out slight gurgling sounds before being still.

"Damn Luffy, the lion was kinda cute. You didn't have to go so over kill." Bonney went over, poking the large animal and pouting when she got no response.

"It'll live," Luffy eyed the still creature and its master. "Probably."

"Yo-you guys are crazy!" Nami looked between the two pirates. She took a deep breath before continuing, some still sane part of her mind telling her not to anger the crazy strong pirates. "Look, I'm going to go steal Buggy's treasure, then I'm getting off this island, okay? So there's no need for you to start attacking me 'cause I'm just gonna leave you alone."

Luffy looked to Bonney who just shrugged her shoulder. "Why would we attack you?"

Nami blinked, wondering if this dude had all his screws still in. "Because you're pirates, and you attack people for the hell of it."

"We do?" Luffy looked honestly confused, turning to Bonney, "I don't remember us doing that."

"That's because we haven't yet."

Much like before, Nami didn't get a chance to respond as two voices became yelling.

"Mohji you idiot! How did you lose?!"

"I told you he was weak, Captain."

"Hey look. It's Big Nose." Luffy pointed to where Buggy- who did in fact have a very large, red nose- and Cabaji were standing.

The enemy captain quickly became red in the face, screeching "You'll pay for that, Straw Hat!" Without waiting for another moment, Buggy launched his hand forward, daggers gripped in between his fingers.

"What the hell?!" Luffy jumped back, staring as Buggy's hand reattached itself.

"Gyahaha! You're facing a Devil Fruit user. Tremble in fear as you face death!"

"Captain, there's no need for you to waste your energy. Let me handle this." Cabaji stepped forward, his captain giving him a nod and settling back for the beating he was sure was about to occur. Buggy was right, in a way. It just wasn't Luffy that received the beating.

Not even a second after the acrobat had drawn his sword, a small child was in his place. He'd barely let out a cry when a long leg come around a punted him, his small body going flying only to revert back to his natural age just as he crashed into a wall, the stone crumbling down on his head.

"Please, as if he could take us." Bonney's leg came back down, her captain grinning at the ease with which she'd dealt with her opponent. "Can we hurry this up? I'm starving over here."

"Oh, Bonney! Food!"

"After the battle, you dolt!" Luffy pouted for a second before turning to face Buggy- whose face was outshining his nose- with a grin. No one seemed to notice as Nami quickly backed away and headed away from the battle.

Forgoing words, Luffy launched forward with a punch. " **Gum-Gum Pistol**!" His hand hit nothing, Buggy's torso splitting into two. The clown's own hand shot out, Luffy pulling back at the last second and knives just grazing the edge of his hat.

"Hey! Don't touch my hat!" Buggy just laughed and continued shooting his hand towards Luffy's headwear.

"That hat? What's so special about a dinky old straw hat?" He paused for a moment, his eyes going distant before coming back to the present full of anger. With renewed vigor he shot out a hand, bringing the other one from behind Luffy's head to snatch off the hat. "You know, this hat reminds me of someone. That annoying red-hair had one just like it."

Luffy paused, his eyes going wide. "You know Shanks? He's the one that gave me the hat."

"Wait," Bonney- who'd been watching the fight from the side- stepped up next to her captain, eyeing him in surprise. "You know Red-Hair Shanks? _The_ Red-Hair Shanks _?_ "

"Um, yeah?" Buggy's screech pulled Luffy's attention back to his enemy and the treasure in his possession.

"So this _is_ that idiot's precious treasure." Before anyone could move, Buggy's daggers went through the hat, Luffy letting out a strangled sound even as Buggy explained how Shanks had "wronged" him.

Luffy let out another series of punches, the first few catching Buggy off guard and causing him to let go of the straw hat in his surprise. Buggy quickly began getting annoyed at constantly having to dodge and reformed for a split second, getting ready to counter attack, but it was enough for Bonney to get a lock on him.

She'd been getting slightly annoyed at the battle. Not only was she starving, but Luffy was _pissed_ and seeing the unrelenting anger in his eyes when his hat had been damaged was just so _wrong_ she wanted to beat the stupid clown to a bloody pulp. But she could tell that so long as he could break himself into pieces, he'd keep dodging attacks. And, with him flying around in pieces everywhere, she couldn't get a lock on him to turn him to an old man. So, when he reassembled, even though it was just for a second, she was ready.

Luffy sent another **Gum-Gum Rifle** towards Buggy, not stopping even when he registered that Bonney had aged him. Buggy, surprised at the sudden stiffness in his limbs, couldn't separate fast enough to avoid the hit. His body rammed into the building behind him, the stone cracking under the pressure. Luffy waited for a moment, but he didn't get up.

He picked up his hat from where it had fallen on the ground, dusting off the dirt and eyeing the three holes with worry. Before he could wonder what he'd tell Shanks- he'd made a promise and now it was broken- Bonney came up beside him.

"I can fix it. It'll only take a few minutes and I already have the stuff on the _Wolf_."

"Ah! Thank you, Bonney!" Rubbery arms wrapped around the curvy woman, straw hat back on the head of its owner even as he began smothering Bonney in his thanks.

"Jeez, yeah yeah. Don't worry about it. Let's just grab some food and get out of here."

"Oh, what happened to Nami?" Luffy looked around, not spotting the redhead that had helped him.

"She took off with a large bag that I assume was treasure." Bonney turned in place, finding what she was looking for and took a step towards a building that seemed to be a grocery store of some sort. Before she could get very far, the sounds of gasps made her pause. From around the corner, a group of people- dressed normally so they were clearly not from Buggy's crew- appeared and started pointing at the fallen forms of Buggy and his men.

"You there!" An old man dressed in leather plating took a step forward, pointing towards Luffy and Buggy. "Are you marines that came to capture the Buggy Pirates?"

"Shishishi! Nope! We're pirates." Bonney face-palmed, wondering why Luffy thought the truth was necessary as the group of townspeople began chasing them out.

"Shit! I wanted to get some more ingredients!" Both Bonney and Luffy jumped onto the ship, taking her out of the dock as quickly as possible as everyone on the pier yelled to get their no good pirate butts out of their town.

"I like those people."

"They're chasing us out of town without resources!"

"Just 'cause they want to protect the place." Bonney had nothing to say to that, instead focusing on steering the ship.

"Well now we need to stop at another island before we starve. The Gecko Islands are close."

"Then take us to our next adventure!" Bonney sighed but complied, correcting the course and mentally cataloging how she was going to ensure the food was going to last till then. A few hidden stashes should ensure that she had enough food without her captain getting into it. "Hey, Bonney?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think we should have asked Nami to join us?" Bonney came over, eyeing her captain as he sat at his "special seat" on the giant white wolf figure head.

"It would be nice to have another girl on board. But, who knows? Maybe she would've said no."

"Why would anyone say no to being a pirate?" Bonney just shook her head, not even trying to explain it to the dense man.

"Do you want dinner?"

"FOOD!"

"Why did I even ask?" A western wind blew, the sail billowing and propelling them on to their next adventure.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Guest (1):** _ **Will Apoo or Hawkins join next?**_

 **Good guess, I don't want to spoil anything, but I will tell you that Hawkins will join relatively early on compared to some of the others. Thanks for the guess!**

 **Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, love to hear from you guys and gals in the review section!**

 **NEXT TIME:**

 **Mini Series- Checking in with the World, Chapter 2: A Fishy Situation**


	5. Chapter of Nami

**A/N: Hey Kittens! hope you guys enjoy the chapter.**

 **Updated 6/4/19**

* * *

 **Mini Series- Checking in with the World, Chapter 2: A Fishy Situation**

Nami set out from Orange Town, questions about the strange duo she'd seen in her head until the air changed and more importing things- like surviving the incoming storm on her small ship- took over.

The East Blue, while known as the weakest sea, was still an ocean and deserved to be treated as such. Nami, the best navigator in the area, knew this better than anyone. If you weren't careful, your ship would be sunk faster than you could say "Davy Jones".

That being said, Nami knew how to navigate. She knew how to respect the sea. And above all, she knew how to think. Something most people thought took to much time and forgot to take part in.

It was for this last reason that she ended up in Loguetown. While she'd been able to get a good haul of gold at Orange Town- _only two million more to go_ \- she hadn't been able to restock and that meant she had nowhere near enough food for the trip back to Arlong Park. Nami had long since gotten used to eating minimally- Arlong didn't think much of feeding humans and she didn't want to waste money on buying more food than necessary- but even she knew that she needed basic nutrients if she wanted to live long enough to free her village.

She'd never been to Loguetown. Arlong's mark was well known and even with her shoulder covered, she didn't want to risk it. But it was the closest island and she didn't have time to go out of her way. If she didn't make it back before Arlong's set deadline, people would die. And that was not acceptable. Not when she was _so close_. So, she figured she'd spend a few hours- at most- getting supplies and she'd be back out to sea in no time.

Until she ran into the freaking marines that is.

* * *

Smoker had been having a normal day. A few no-name pirates showed up in port, but Tashigi being able to take care of them by herself had left Smoker to deal with paperwork. How he hated paperwork. Luckily, his rank allowed him to delegate, which is how some poor commander now had a mountain of paper and he had somehow ended up walking around town with Tashigi ever so faithfully tagging along.

Smoker wished more marines would be like Tashigi. She wasn't perfect by any means, but she had a fire in her that they needed to burn down this damn Pirate Age and she knew right from wrong, even if she didn't always have the strength to reinforce her beliefs. But that could be worked on.

Passing by a food stand, Tashigi tripped over her own foot, her flailing arms shooting to catch herself on the nearest thing. Which happened to be the food stand that went flying with the young woman's weight. Before the marine could make more of a fool of herself, a stream of smoke steadied her on her feet, pushing her glasses down from her hair to her cover her eyes.

On second thought, Smoker wanted more marines like Tashigi minus her clumsiness. And her blindness.

Smoker dropped a few bills onto the stand owner and they continued on their way, red lightly dusting Tashigi's cheeks at the glare her superior leveled at her. Besides that little incident, everything seemed average in the town of the Beginnings and the End. Stalls were lined up on the side of the road, market day in full swing. Children ran amuck with ice creams, a redhead was leaning forward suggestively, clearly trying to lower the price of whatever she was buying, peddlers yelled their wares.

It wasn't until Smoker heard the gasp that he knew something was wrong.

"Captain Smoker sir! I think that woman has Arlong's mark on her arm." Smoker raised a white eyebrow, his eyes going over to the redhead that Tashigi had gestured at. It was the same one that had been using her body to get a better deal- Smoker silently thanked the universe for Tashigi- and she now had a bag full of goods and a satisfied smirk on her face. She tugged at one of her short sleeves as she turned, Smoker barely catching a glimpse of blue under the yellow fabric.

"You sure?" Tashigi paused, she knew Smoker didn't tolerate going after people just because Tashigi thought she'd seen a pirate mark on them. You'd be surprised at how many times that had occurred.

"Yes sir." The captain nodded, trusting in his Sergeant Major (perhaps a mistake when it came to visuals, but he'd always trust her) as he made his way towards the moving figure of the redhead. They caught up to her in no time, her stroll calm and unhurried.

"Excuse us," Smoker called, the redhead turning to look at him in surprise. "Would you show us your shoulder?" Mincing words had never been Smoker's thing.

The girl stiffened suddenly, eyes narrowing and feet moving into a stance that could either mean she was about to fight or run. "What the hell? What, the marines going around feeding their weird ass fetishes instead of doing their jobs now?"

Tashigi sputtered next to him, "Wha-who would- how could you think…?"

"We want to see if you have Arlong's mark on you." Smoker knew his subordinate hadn't been seeing things when fear flickered in the woman's eyes, only to be replaced by feigned outrage.

"Are the marines being managed by idiots now?" She snorted and started to walk away, calling over her shoulder one last thing before disappearing towards the docks. "Everyone knows that Arlong only employs fishmen, he'd never employ a human woman, not when he chooses to enslave them instead."

Smoker grabbed Tashigi's shoulder before she could go after the woman.

"Sir?"

"Prepare a ship. We're going to follow her back to Arlong."

Tashigi saluted, hurrying off to order a crew together as Smoker turned into his name sake, reforming on the roof of a building overlooking the docks. If the way the woman was acting didn't give her away, her parting comment would have. Every now and then the marines heard rumors of Arlong having taken over an East Blue island. All branches would search the islands in their vicinity, but all reported back that nothing amiss had been spotted.

Smoker found it suspicious, especially when one considered the few random marine ships that never reported back in. Yet those were always declared lost at sea, a large LAS stamp on some paperwork practically erasing them from people's minds. Considering none of this was made public knowledge-not when there was nothing for the marines to gain from it- the fact that the woman suggested the rumors were in fact true meant that she either knew Arlong or the island he'd taken over. Either way, she would lead Smoker to a piece of scum that needed to be taken care of.

Within the next half hour, a battle ship was leaving Loguetown, whispers of Smoker abandoning his post flitting through the town. The captain just snorted, puffing on a few cigars. He'd be back, but first he had a pirate whose ass needed kicking. That was the job of a marine, after all.

* * *

Nami had been scared when the white-haired marine had stopped her. His casual mention of that cursed mark put her on edge and there was a knowing glint in his eyes that she didn't like. Still, she only had four days to make it back to Conomi and it was a three day trip at the best of times. As she released the sail, she prayed to whatever god that had abandoned her that they wouldn't follow. She had enough innocent deaths on her conscious.

* * *

It was on the afternoon of the fourth day that the lookout- who could barely make out the ship with a scope- reported that the redhead had docked at the Conomi Islands.

"What branch has jurisdiction on this area?" Tashigi came up besides Smoker, her sword in her hand. Smoker had informed everyone after they'd set sail that there was a chance this wouldn't be a peaceful trip.

"Branch 16 sir. Led by Captain Nezumi."

"The rat that bribed his way to captain rank, eh?"

"Captain Smoker sir, there has been no proof of that." Tashigi looked at her captain, the man flicking ash off his cigars into the sea.

"Doesn't change the fact that everyone knows it's true."

Tashigi remained silent, agreeing with her captain but not wanting to question the World Government when there were other sailors nearby. In the next few seconds, the coast line began to appear, and with it an obnoxiously loud building, the words "Arlong Park" a mere blur to anyone without a scope.

"Captain Smoker sir!" A recruit ran up, saluting to the two officers before continuing his report. "Branch 16 flagship has appeared on our starboard side, they are requesting to speak, sir!"

"Let them board," Smoker commanded, pulling out two new cigars to replace his old ones.

Within half an hour Captain Nezumi was facing against Captain Smoker, each of their seconds tense and off to the side.

"Captain Smoker, last I heard you were back in Loguetown. What brings you all the way here to my backwater jurisdiction?" The whiskers on the rat captain's face twitched, the ears attached to his hat shifting in the breeze.

"I have reason to believe that Arlong has a base on the Conomi Islands."

"Chichichi, you don't think I would have reported something like that?" Smoker looked to the side where Arlong Park was now clearly visible, turning back to the fellow captain with raised brows.

"I think you're on the take." Nezumi sputtered some pathetic excuses but calmed down soon enough. There was no way to talk his way out of this one, after all.

"I should have known a nosy bastard like you would come along at some point. Whatever, you aren't the first to come snooping and I doubt you'll be the last." With those parting words, Nezumi and his rettainer jumped back onto their ship, pulling away from their fellow marines soon enough. Just before Smoker could give the order to report this to HQ, the ship they were standing on gave a lurch and it was at that moment that Smoker remembered that they were on the sea and in fishmen territory.

* * *

Nami was a mess of emotions. Anger, sadness, desperation, they all wared for dominance in her head, each screeching their own indignations at recent events.

She'd arrived at Arlong Park before the deadline, told him that she would have the money soon, but the entire crew had been acting strangely, all smiles and good wishes instead of insults and suspicion. Nami had left as soon as she could, heading towards Cocoyashi Village at a fast walk, nerves putting her on edge.

She got there just in time to join the funeral procession.

That shark nosed bastard had killed Genzo just for having some guns that couldn't even shoot any more. She stayed on the hill after everyone had left, Nojiko standing off to the side as tears rolled down her face. Nami herself was sobbing, never getting enough air as she shook in her anger. She was so close, one more trip and they'd be free. And yet, Genzo was laying here in the dirt. Nami's father laying next to her mother. And the same man had put them there.

She couldn't help it, Nami screamed her rage along side her grief, fists pounding the dirt in front of two sets of wooden crosses. A pinwheel spun where it stood in the dirt. She didn't know how long she stayed there, only that at some point the sun set and Nojiko wrapped her arms around her little sister. Bright stars and the moons glittered in a clear sky above them when Nami finally stopped, her eyes dry and itchy.

The two sisters made their way through the woods to a little cottage, rows of tangerines welcoming them home. They landed on the single bed in a heap, neither letting go of the other for the entire night.

They woke to the sound of marching feet.

* * *

Nami barged through the doors of Arlong Park, the sting in her hands from the force she used going ignored as she marched up to her tormentor. She screamed and raged at him for what he'd done, not just hiring that rat bastard to steal all her gold- _I'd been so close, so close and it's all gone_ \- but for killing Genzo and breaking his promise, the promises he'd sworn he would never go back on.

In the end he just threw her to the side, laughing in her face and telling her to start over. She couldn't fight him, Nami knew this the same way she knew there was no changing the past, just working for the future. That didn't stop the tears from flowing down her face.

She wanted nothing more than to get off this island, get far away and cry herself to sleep on the ocean as she hunted more gold, as she started over again because damn it _she would see her village freed._ No matter what she wouldn't let Bell-mere and Genzo's sacrifices be in vain.

She knew this was what she wanted, even if it killed her because it would mean seeing her friends and neighbors freed, but she just didn't know if she could do it. She didn't know if she could keep looking at the face that had brought her so much misery and keep living. And worst, she had always suspected that he would do this. Some part of her had always whispered that he would never let her leave, but she'd always had hope. Hope that was now buried six feet under ground along with her adoptive father. What was to stop him from doing this again, even if she did get the money? Was there even a reason anymore?

The dagger was in her hand before anyone could blink, Arlong opening his mouth to taunt her about her inability to harm him only to silence himself as the knife buried itself in her shoulder. She kept stabbing, even as Arlong Park went silent and Arlong himself got up, his eyes clouding in anger. She kept going even as blood ran down her arm and turned her hands sticky. Even as she knew that her body was going into shock and that Arlong would kill her for the disrespect. At least she would see her parents again.

Arlong took a step forward, again opening his mouth only to this time be interrupted by a fist made of smoke smashing into his face. A hand grabbed hold of Nami's wrist, stopping it mid-swing. The redhead looked up, tears making her vision blurry.

"We'll take care of this piece of scum, so there's no need to keep hurting yourself." A white-haired man with two cigars looked down at Nami, his eyes flickering with rage that Nami knew wasn't directed at her. The white and blue of the clothes on the people now surrounding them didn't go unnoticed and a new stream of tears welled up.

"Help me." A woman with blue hair that Nami knew had been in Loguetown came forward, wrapping a thick white bandage around Nami's bleeding shoulder, the flabs of skin burning with pain she was just beginning to feel.

"Of course we'll help. We're marines." As if that meant it was all going to be okay. Marines had come before and were either bought off or sent to spend their time with Davy Jones. Yet, some part of Nami prayed that these ones would really be able to end the suffering on this island.

"Oh, you must be the marines that my men were sent to kill." Arlong's smile was all teeth, his eyes flashing dangerously. "How are you here and not on the ocean's floor?"

"Turns out that while you fish types are good with water, you can't actually breathe through thick smoke." Two cigar stubs fell to the ground, two more taking their place within a moment. "Arlong, you and your crew are under arrest for the crimes of piracy and being douchebags."

"Normally I'd ask your price to get you to turn away, but you've pissed me off, so I think I'll just have you killed instead." The fishmen that had been standing around watching the interaction all moved forward as one. Just as they each reached Smoker, his body dispersed, and the smoke thickened until the fishmen couldn't even move. The marines that had been standing by stepped forward, each clapping a set of chains on the fishmen that were soon choking on smoke until they fell unconscious. Arlong looked about ready to rip Smoker's throat out, but calmed when two fishmen, one with long lips and the other with thick fins on each arm, stepped past him.

"We'll take care of this, chu."

Tashigi stepped up, her sword intercepting Chew before the fishman could reach her commanding officer. Chew jumped back, avoiding the slice that followed. He shot off several water droplets, each moving with the force of a bullet. Tashigi dodged most of them, one grazing her shoulder and with a hiss of pain she charged forward, Chew dodging backwards again. They continued as such, Chew staying just out of reach. Within a few moments, Tashigi noticed where Chew was moving to and slashed at his left, forcing him to move further away from the water or get sliced.

At some point Chew stopped firing, his eyes promising pain even as he couldn't use his main weapon. Within the next second, the wall was close enough to his back that when Tashigi moved forward, he had nowhere to dodge and the attack went past his raised arms to cut at his stomach. He made a gurgling sound as blood starting to run down his front but Tashigi spun, her sword picking up speed and force only to slice across arms raised in defense. Before Chew could release a counter attack, a wooden staff hit him on his head. Repeatedly.

When he slumped onto the ground unconscious, Tashigi looked up to the redheaded woman.

"I hated him," she said as explanation, wiping her red eyes on her hand and turning to something behind Tashigi. During Tashigi's battle, Smoker had defeated the other Arlong commander and started fighting Arlong himself.

Even if Tashigi didn't have full faith in her captain, she would've known who was going to win at first glance. As it turns out, fishmen who didn't know haki were practically useless against Logia types.

Another of Arlong's barrage of attacks passed harmlessly through smoke, Smoker's fist sending Arlong flying in retaliation. As soon as the shark fishmen got up, a kick sent him flying across the courtyard into the building which crumbled at the forced and came tumbling down. Arlong didn't get up.

Tashigi and Smoker both turned as cheers rose up. Sometime while they were distracted, townspeople had appeared. Weapons that they'd been carrying dropped to the ground as they all shouted and cried, some going off to other villages to tell them of what had happened.

It was on this day that Captain Smoker and Sergeant Major Tashigi became known as the heroes of the Conomi Islands.

* * *

Nami couldn't believe it. The entire town was partying, a feast the likes of which had never been seen on the island in full swing and going on not just in Cocoyashi Village, but in all the towns on the island. The marines, despite the captain's insistence it was unnecessary, had been dragged in to the dancing circle. Smoker detangled himself quickly, disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Leaving the partying to the rest of town, Nami made her way up to the cliff that overlooked the ocean. It had been Bell-mere's favourite spot, she'd used to tell Nami and Nojiko stories about the marines and the adventures out on the sea. Nami hoped she could still see the ocean she loved so much.

Nami sat down in front of the two graves that adorned the hill, her eyes long since dried. It still hurt, she never thought it wouldn't, but she knew she couldn't cry about it forever. She needed to do something, move on with her life. It's what they would've wanted.

"You're going to join them, aren't you?" Nami nodded, not surprised that her sister had followed her or that she knew what Nami had been thinking.

"What if there are other islands like this one? I can't let others go through what we did." Nojiko didn't say anything, just sitting down next to her sister as they leaned against each other. The silence lasted until the sun rose over the ocean, the sky painted pink and orange as two sisters of bond if not by blood shared an unspoken understanding of what was to come.

* * *

When a marine battle ship left the harbor near Cocoyashi Village, it was to the cheers of the people and with one extra person on board.

"Captain Smoker sir! Nami reporting for duty, sir!" Nami saluted, a wide grin plastered on her face as she stood before her commanding officer in her newly gained marine uniform. Smoker nodded his approval and Nami dropped the salute as she stood next to Smoker and Tashigi.

"Listen up! We're heading back to Loguetown at full speed, ya hear? I want us back there to kick some pirate ass within two days!"

"SIR YES SIR!"

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Matt:** Nice, though I prefer the canon crew, since they had two girls so they each could talk to each other about girl stuff. But since Bonney's the only female supernova it looks like she'll be all alone.

 **Yeah, I think it's kinda sad that the Supernovas are a total sausage fest, not that there's anything wrong with guys, it'd just be nice to have another girl. But Bonney will manage.**

 **Thanks to everyone who comments and favorites this story! It means so much to me to know you guys are enjoying this. I love to hear from you guys so if you have time please review! Until next time, kittens!**

 **NEXT TIME:**

 **East Blue Saga; Arc 4, Syrup Village: The Cat's Out**


	6. East Blue Saga Arc 4

**A/N: Hey kittens!**

 **So, VoyagersUnite from brought up two points I'd like to address. The first is shipping. I am a fan of several ships that involve the supernovas, but this story is focused on the adventure aspect of this "what if" scenario and I also believe that romance should be an effect of the events that take place in the story, not forced on characters that would otherwise have a platonic relationship. So, unless I feel that two characters would develop feelings for each do to the events from the story, I'm probably not going to involve shipping.**

 **The second thing they brought up was if someone else got a larger bounty than in cannon!verse and became a supernova. I will be messing with the supernovas bounties because it's necessary for the plot and some of the cannon!verse SH bounties, again for plot, but I will not be adding new supernovas. I think that goes against what I want this story to be.**

 **Jjcoop95 also brought up the fact that I mention a connection between Bonney and Whitebeard but that in recent chapters it's been revealed that she has a connection to Kuma. I know about this, and I do have plans for it, I just also think that she has a connection to Whitebeard as well. With many of the supernovas I plan on taking some liberties because it's necessary for several things to occur. Just wait until we get to Killer's backstory, it makes very little sense but also seems to fit his character and I'm wondering what I was on when I came up with it. XD**

 **In other news, I now have a tumblr for this. Its under the name kilannad, so if you got time go check it out and I'd really appreciate if you could help me spread the word about this fanfic!**

 **I've been going on for long enough, so I suppose I should let you guys get to the story.**

 **Updated 6/4/19**

* * *

 **East Blue Saga; Arc 4, Syrup Village: The Cat's Out**

Bonney and Luffy had spent the last two days at sea and the Gecko Islands had been just a blip on the horizon until early afternoon on the second day. Bonney, not only hungry as hell because _someone_ had eaten all the food in the middle of the night- she wasn't caught the night before and there was still food left so it was really all Luffy's fault- but also hot and she was about to commit mutiny because her captain _wouldn't shut up._

"Bonney, I'm hungry!"

"Well then you shouldn't have eaten all the food!"

"But I needed a midnight snack." Luffy pouted, receiving an eyeroll and a few grumbled insults as a response.

"We'll be landing soon."

"Yay! Adventure! What do you think we'll find? Maybe a pile of treasure. Or a giant octopus. Oh! Oh maybe-"

"From what I know," Bonney interrupted, sighing internally at her captain's only two modes, "Syrup Village, the town we'll be landing at, is fairly peaceful." Luffy sat down with his legs and arms crossed.

"Well, I'm sure there's an adventure waiting for us!"

Bonney was really starting to hate it when Luffy was right.

* * *

Usopp, Captain of the Usopp Pirates and town liar of Syrup Village, shot another iron star at the group of pirates in front of him. Sweat ran down his back and face, his goggles protecting him from the worst of the dust clouding the air. The Black Cat Pirates had been trying to get up the path to the village for the last half hour and he was quickly losing stamina and ammunition. On the cliffs overhanging the pass, rocks rained down, the Veggies doing a great job at moving from place to place to keep up appearances of their greater numbers. Not that the freak with the pendulum had run away screaming when Usopp had told him about his eight thousand men.

It had been normal, _so normal_ , when the Usopp Pirates had overheard Klahadore speaking about slowly poisoning Kaya, all so she'd be weak enough to be killed when they attacked. The Usopp Pirates had hoped to evacuate the village, but no one listened to them. They'd even tried to contact the marines but had quickly realized that they wouldn't make it in time. Which is how they'd come up with the plan to take down the pirates themselves.

Usopp was terrified, his legs shaking at even the thought of facing down real pirates. He could tell the Veggies felt the same way, their own eyes looking to Usopp for guidance and a way to stay alive because all they wanted to do was laugh about how this was all one of the captain's lies because _it was always a lie._ But no, this time it was the truth. Pirates had landed at Syrup Village and they were going to kill everyone they cared for and the Usopp Pirates were the only ones that could stop it from happening.

Which is how they'd ended up setting a trap. Oil was slicking the steep path up, the pirates slipping and sliding where it was thickest, the oil sticking to the dirt and making it clump at other places. Onion, Pepper, and Carrot were on the cliffs pushing off rocks and boulders onto the waiting targets while Usopp stayed at the top of the path, his aim as true as ever as the weaker members of the pirate crew fell to the ground.

He didn't sense the kick to his behind until he was already falling forward, slamming down the hill and onto the shore with enough force to wind him.

Kla- _Kuro, his name is Kuro_ \- Kuro stood in place of Usopp at the top of the slope, his eyes shadowed and filled with undisguised anger. The rocks stopped falling, the small valley going silent and Usopp shook his head, hoping his comrades would understand and not engage. The Black Cat Pirates froze, not bothering to attack Usopp as they simply stared as Kuro lectured them about the mistake of making him wait while he slipped on two bladed gloves.

Then the screams started.

It seemed that there was no honor among this crew, Kuro attacking everyone within his range without seemingly realizing what he was doing. Usopp stepped back, glad that his friends were on the cliff and out of reach as he stayed blocked by the large ship docked on the sand.

He'd been watching for only a few moments, men falling down from out of nowhere as blood just sprayed everywhere, when he heard the calm wave sounds change to sudden splashing, turning around to see a small caravel with a white wolf figure head pull up to shore. Usopp's eyes widened even more as his eyes caught on the black flag with a skull wearing a straw hat.

"Oh! Bonney, look. I think there's a fight going on."

"Somehow I know this is your fault."

"What? But we just got here!"

"Still. You bring trouble wherever we go, so I'm blaming you."

A pink haired woman and a dark haired young boy stood at the head of the ship, looking down as men continued to fight to try to escape Kuro.

"Looks like they're getting their asses kicked." The straw-hat wearing boy said this, leaning forward with his eyes tracking the falling bodies.

"I wonder why they're fighting?"

"Maybe they stole the dude's meat." The woman slapped the boy upside the head, the straw hat shifting ever so slightly at the motion.

"Why would he start killing them just for that?"

"Meat is important." Usopp blinked, wondering if the man was joking despite his serious face.

"Wh-who are you?" The pirates- _why are all the pirates coming to this island?_ \- looked down at the long-nosed boy.

"Oh. I'm Monkey D. Luffy, the future Pirate King!" Usopp felt his jaw drop, pulling his eyes away only when he heard the pink-haired woman sigh.

"Yeah, he's serious. Don't ask. I'm Jewelry Bonney, by the way. Care to explain what the hell is going on here?" Usopp just looked between the two before stuttering out an explanation.

"Th-the uh, the Black Cat pirates were supposed to invade the village but when they didn't get there on schedule their captain came down and started killing them off." The straw-hat boy's eyes darkened and Usopp noticed Bonney's eyebrows went up. Within the next moment, the two new additions to the island jumped down from their ship, sand kicking up as they stepped by the Black Cat's ship and closer to the melee.

"W-wait! You could get hurt i-" Bonney waved away Usopp's complaints, calling over her shoulder to him before settling her weight against the keel of the other pirate ship.

"Captain is pissed so he's going to be kicking their asses. Just make sure you have a shit ton of food for when we're done."

* * *

Bonney really didn't understand Luffy. She thought that she had him down to a T. He liked food; he did what he wanted; he wanted to have adventures; if you messed with what he considers his, be it his friends or his treasure, he messed you up. Then they got to some random island where some random pirate captain was killing a bunch of random people and he got mad. Real mad. If Luffy had known the people on the island, maybe she'd understand. If he was a traditional pirate that followed the Code- a captain should never harm his crew- she'd understand.

But he was neither and as such she was completely lost when his eyes darkened, and she could tell that he was about to get involved.

"I'm so fucking hungry I'm not going to be much help." Luffy nodded, handing his straw hat to his crew mate who took it with a roll of her eyes.

"M'kay. I can handle this." Bonney settled back, listening to her stomach rumbling as she just waited for her captain to finish up so she could eat. The long-nosed boy came up beside her, his legs shaking and releasing small yelps every time Bonney shifted. They watched in silence as Luffy dealt with the enemy.

Bonney was pissed about the entire situation herself. The first rule of every ship was; never betray your crewmates. The captain, especially, was charged with protecting their crew. This masacre- because that's it was- went against every fiber of her. She was a pirate. She would steal, she would kill when faced with an enemy, she ignored laws and the stuffed shirts that wrote them, but she would _never_ kill anyone under her captaincy or any of her crewmates. It just wasn't done. Yet here she stood, some no-name ass-wipe, disgracing pirates everywhere.

At first it was simple enough. Luffy gained a few cuts on his arms but they were shallow and thus didn't pose much of a threat, the bigger issue being that he couldn't actually see who he was fighting, Kuro moving so fast that he was little more than a blur across the valley. Until Luffy picked up one of the larger boulders that had been rolled off the cliff- this one larger than Luffy's torso- and swung it down on seemingly nothing.

Bonney heard the long-nosed boy- _he never mentioned his name so it's not my fault I don't know it_ \- gasp as Kuro appeared from thin air, the blades on one of his hands shattering as Luffy pulled the boulder they were stuck in away.

"Look what you did. Seems you can do more than just stand around."

"You're an idiot. A man that doesn't protect his crew," Luffy pulled back his arm, sending it forward too quickly for Kuro to dodge, "Isn't a real pirate!" As Kuro went flying, dust raising around his form, Bonney blinked in surprise.

Perhaps he did follow some of the pirate Code after all.

Kuro stood, blood dripping down his face, "Pirates are nothing more than outcasts that choose to sail. Why would I protect a bunch of useless weaklings?" At this, many of the Black Cat pirates looked hurt and grumbled about not being weaklings.

Luffy's face darkened, "These men sailed with you, they swore to follow you, and you do nothing but use them as shields to hide behind." Luffy shot towards Kuro, his leg whipping out only to be jumped over. Before Kuro could return to killing everyone Luffy wrapped his arms and legs around the Cat Pirates' captain, successfully locking him in place. The remaining pirates that were standing all began cheering, each coming to the realization that if Luffy won they would escape with their lives.

Luffy's head sailed back, his neck stretching unnaturally so he could personally yell in their faces.

"Don't cheer me on! I'm going to kick your asses once I'm done with this guy!" Luffy's head snapped back forward, the thud of skin on skin echoing through the suddenly silent shore. Kuro collapsed, blood spurting from his face as Luffy turned to the rest of the crew only to find them all quickly climbing on board their ship and pushing off from the shore, two coming and picking up their captain.

"Wh-what happened?" Luffy turned to look at a blonde woman with three boys that stood at the top of the slope.

"Klahadore was actually an evil pirate," Carrot began, Pepper joining in the explanation.

"So Captain Usopp and us defended the village."

"Me-Meri is injured. He told me Klahadore attacked him." The girl looked up, eyes locking on the boy that had since begun walking up the slope to her, somehow managing to navigate the oil. "You told the truth Usopp." Bonney got the impression that she was tearing up. The boy, Usopp, took the final steps and pulled her into his arms and she was too muffled for Bonney to make anything else out.

Rolling her eyes, the Straw Hat cook walked the little ways to her captain, placing his hat back on his head. He grinned, not seemingly noticing the blood that was slowly drying and caking on his arms. It didn't take long for his stomach to once again catch up to his mouth and, when the blonde which was soon named Kaya, heard the story of what had happened, she offered to feed them as thanks. Later, after he was treated, Meri would worry that the two pirates would eat their entire fortune away.

* * *

By the next morning, Bonney and Luffy had restocked the _White Wolf_ , Meri even being so kind as to give them extra wood and nails in case their ship needed to be repaired. As they set out, the wind filling their sails and the sky clear and sunny, Bonney looked to her captain, brow raised as she stuffed her face with pizza.

"Sho whed tudh nect?" Luffy, ever knowledgeable about all things related to food, simply grinned as he swallowed the bowl of rice in his hands.

"The Grand Line. I think we've spent enough time here."

"Do you think we should've brought that Usopp fellow along? He seemed kind of weak, but he said he'd wanted to be a pirate." Bonney was slightly surprised at the odd mix of seriousness and understanding Luffy took on.

"No. His path leads somewhere else." Bonney nodded even though she really wished they gotten someone else to join them, chugging from a large mug that sat next to her on the table in the kitchen. She didn't know what her captain meant, but she'd trust him for now. If nothing else, the battle on the shore had shown her that he was a man she could follow.

"Then we need to stop at Loguetown. There's somethings that we need before we enter the worst sea that we can't get anywhere else."

"Loguetown… I think I've heard that name somewhere." Luffy frowned, his face scrunched up and quickly turning red.

"I hope you've heard about it!" Bonney rolled her eyes, continuously stuffing her face. "It's know as the town of the Beginnings and the End. It's where the Pirate King, Gold Roger was both born and executed."

Luffy's eyes practically glowed, food forgotten for a moment as he thought about the life of the man that held the title of the Freest in the World. In a few seconds, he was back to stuffing his face, his pause going unnoticed by his companion.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Guest (chapter 4):** I love this kind of stories! Please, update soon!

 **I'M SO SORRY I DIDN'T RESPOND TO YOU LAST CHAPTER. For some reason I didn't get the notification when you reviewed so I didn't read your comment until after I posted. Anyway, thank you so much for taking the time to review. I'm glad you're enjoying this.**

 **Guest (chapter 5):** This really was a fantastic chapter

 **Thank you so much! I'm so glad you enjoyed it.**

 **The next chapter is sooo short I'll probably post it in a few minutes, until next time kittens!**

 **NEXT TIME:**

 **Mini Series- Checking in with the World, Chapter 3: Long-Nosed Hero in the Making**


	7. Chapter of Usopp

**A/N: Updated 6/4/19**

* * *

 **Mini Series- Checking in with the World, Chapter 3: Long-Nosed Hero in the Making**

Usopp sat overlooking the sea, the pile of logs he'd always used as target practice sitting underneath him. Pepper, Onion and Carrot had left only a few moments ago, each renewing their vows to the captain.

"We believe in you Captain!"

"We'll follow you anywhere."

"What I want," Usopp said, looking down at his friends, "Is for us to follow our dreams. Can you do that?"

Their eyes began watering, knowing that this moment, this single action, would alter their course. Onion, Pepper and Carrot all took deep breaths and yelled out their dreams.

"I will own a bar!"

"I will be a master carpenter!"

"I will write my own book!"

Usopp took a deep breath and looked up at the pirate flag moving in the wind. "I will be a brave protector of this island!" He felt tears running down his own face, some small part of him praying that his father would forgive him.

Usopp was pulled from his musings as a branch cracked behind him.

"You aren't leaving for the sea." Kaya's voice was stronger than before but there was still a slight tremor. Usopp supposed that no one could go through finding out their butler was evil and not have some sort of reaction.

"I've decided to stay here. I protected the village this time, what happens next time?" It had taken a lot of thought, but Usopp realized that the island needed him. It needed him to keep telling great stories, it needed him to remind everyone that there was excitement outside of their little town. It needed him to protect them when enemies came. Besides, maybe one day he could start going on short adventures. They wouldn't be the same as what his father did, but a few days at sea, visiting and exploring the neighbouring islands could provide him with the adventures he always wanted while still allowing him to stay in Syrup and protect his village.

Kaya simply nodded, her blonde hair flowing in the wind just as the flag that was no longer hung used to.

"Well, I'll be here to patch you up when you need it. It wouldn't do for our island's protector to go around injured all the time."

Usopp looked over, surprise on his face as his friend simply smiled in that calm way of hers. "I won't let my sickness get the better of me anymore. I'm going to be a doctor." Usopp grinned, sliding over and letting Kaya sit next to them as they watched the sun set and a small caravel disappear over the horizon.

It was on this day that Syrup Village underwent a pirate attack that no one but the village liars had seen. It was also on this day that the Usopp Pirates were disbanded and from their ashes rose the village protector that would one day be needed. But that's a story for another time.

* * *

 **A/N: Review and comment on your thoughts! Love to hear from my kittens!**

 **NEXT TIME:**

 **East Blue Saga; Arc 5, Loguetown: The King is Dead**


	8. East Blue Saga Arc 5

**A/N: Here you kittens go! The end of East Blue.**

* * *

 **East Blue Saga; Arc 5, Loguetown: The King is Dead**

Bonney, possessing some semblance of intelligence, didn't let her captain dock them in the Loguetown port. She'd heard stories and she wasn't in any rush to find out if they were true. The name "White Hunter" was whispered every time the East Blue came up. After all, Smoker was single-handedly responsible for keeping most pirates from leaving the East sea and entering the Grand Line. Which is why the cook and unofficial navigator docked them in a conveniently located cove a little way from port but close enough to walk to the town and pick up the supplies.

As they walked to town, Luffy began humming a song that Bonney had never heard before and quickly began suspecting it was a song of Luffy's own invention.

"Oh~ The islands in the south are warm~. And their heads get really hot~."

"Why are you singing that song? It's ridiculous!" Bonney rubbed her temples, stomach growling pitifully.

"Because pirates love to sing. Duh!" Bonney shook her head, following her nose down the town street to a small pub that quickly ran out of food after meeting the two pits that walked through the doors.

"Pirates sing to keep a beat so that when they're working they don't run into each other. It makes sailing easier." Luffy swallowed his current mouthful, hand reaching over and swiping a bowl of soup from Bonney that she couldn't defend with her hands full with pizza.

"So, having a musician is important! I knew it. We need one." Bonney rolled her eyes and focused more on finishing the food on the table and pulling her captain away as a very angry bar owner yelled profanities at them for not paying their bill. He had nothing on Old Man Zeff, so they ignored him.

They slowed to a walk after they reached the main street, Bonney stopping at a stand and picking up what looked like a compass in a sphere.

"What's that?" Luffy asked, looking closely as the needle just spun around in circles.

"A Log Pose, we need it to navigate the Grand Line." Luffy nodded, not really paying attention beyond the basics. Hey, if his cook said they needed it, then they needed it. Didn't matter for what.

Luffy stepped away from the stand, tuning out Bonney bargaining for the object. In the distance he could barely make out a tall stand rising from the ground. His breath caught in his throat when his brain caught up to his eyes. _That's where Roger met his death_. He started walking towards it, Bonney running to catch up.

Bonney looked around, eyes scanning the town and the people only to run into a large man with silver hair. Bonney silently cursed as Luffy's eyes refocused and were pulled to the man in front of them.

"I haven't seen you two around before," smoke billowed from the two cigars in his mouth, "Did you just get here? I didn't see you land in the harbor." Bonney lifted a hand to Luffy's shoulder, planning on steering them away as quickly as possible because like hell could they take the White Hunter. Her plans were slightly ruined by her captain opening his mouth.

"That's 'cause we docked in a cove. Bonney was worried that our Jolly Roger would draw attention."

Smoker's face darkened. "So you're pirates."

Luffy grinned, "Monkey D. Luffy, fu-" He never got to finish his sentence because Bonney was pulling him away, smoke billowing from the marine in front of them. In the next moments they were racing down the street as pedestrians fled inside in a relatively calm fashion. Bonney wondered idly if Smoker chasing pirates down the street was a regular occurrence. Of course, then she realized this was _not_ the time for idle thoughts.

"I got everything we need. We can head back to the ship."

"Not yet," Luffy said, shaking his head and increasing his speed, Bonney keeping pace easily. "There's something I want to do." Bonney rolled her eyes again, following her captain as a raging marine ran behind them. Did he not run out of air? And why hadn't she taken Marco's offer of teaching her haki?!

When they reached the execution square, Luffy rocketed up to the platform and Bonney ducked into an alley and took in her new location. The square was filled with cloaked figures, each milling about without a clear purpose. Besides the cloaked group and the Straw Hats, no one was in the area, not even the marine that had been chasing them. Bonney was on edge and took a step out of her hiding spot to call to Luffy that they needed to go because something about this was just _wrong_. It reeked of a trap and Bonney was not in the mood.

Which is when two of the cloaked figures appeared on the execution platform with Luffy, one putting him in a stockade and sitting down to ensure he couldn't escape and the other laughing as they removed their cloaks. As did everyone else in the square.

"Damn that captain." Bonney muttered several curses under her breath, stepping further into the square only to be immediately surrounded.

"Gyahaha! Look at that, Straw Hat is pinned down with no escape! Gyahaha!" Buggy stood on the platform, his foot pressing on Luffy's hat.

Somewhere down below, a thin woman that claimed to know Luffy was prattling on about making Luffy her man. Bonney snorted, launching herself at the men in front of her. Her legs and arms flashed out, an elbow here, a knee there, all the while keeping an eye on the execution even as blood flowed around her and bones cracked under pressure.

"Oh, it's just you Buggy."

"Damn brat!" Buggy took a deep breath, relaxing his anger. The boy was about to be killed after all.

* * *

Captain Smoker walked into the tower, marines reporting the situation. "We've determined that there are two people with bounties. 'Iron Mace' Alvida with 5,000,000 and Buggy the Clown with 15,000,000. There is also a third captain that Buggy is calling 'Straw Hat' but we have no information on him."

"Wait, Buggy?" An orange haired woman came in, Tashigi soon following.

"You know him Nami?" Nami nodded and saluted, relaxing at Smoker's prompt to continue.

"Ran into him at Orange Town. He was defeated though." Tashigi and Smoker looked at her expectantly and she continued. "By this pirate called Luffy and his crewmate." Nami looked out the window, squinting at the execution platform. "That's him alright."

"So, Buggy is trying to get revenge. At least that puts things in perspective." Smoke floated from the cigars in the captain's mouth.

"What is it Nami?" Tashigi looked at her friend, the redhead stiff and watching the sky.

"There's a storm coming, and a big one."

"Then let's get this done." Smoker began commanding his troops. They had pirates to arrest.

* * *

 _This is what the Pirate King saw as he died_. Luffy liked it. It filled him with a sense of wonder and a bizarre feeling of power. Only the greatest man to live died here. And Luffy would take his place. _This_ was the start of his journey. The true beginning of Monkey D. Luffy, the Second King of the Pirates.

It also seemed to be the end of his journey.

Buggy and his crew had gathered a bunch of civilians to watch, wanting to make a spectacle. Luffy didn't really care. He'd tried to break free but the block of wood he was in was to tight and he couldn't get a proper grip to squeeze out. Buggy was rambling on, though Luffy was busier trying to scratch his nose than pay attention.

"Monkey D. Luffy, for the crime of making me mad, I, Buggy the Clown, sentence you and your crew to a flashy death! Any last words?" Buggy lifted his foot from the straw hat and Cabaji handed his captain a sword. Luffy took a deep breath and bellowed to the waiting crowd.

"I AM THE MAN WHO WILL BE THE PIRATE KING!" Buggy simply laughed, sword starting to swing even as the citizens spoke of the weight behind those words, in that town especially.

"Bonney! Sorry. Looks like I'm dead." Luffy grinned, even as the sword came down. If this was his end, then so be it. He would die with a grin on his face.

* * *

"Shit!" Bonney spun again, ducking under a sword slash and released a small burst of power, a few men around her turning to old men and becoming easy targets for the cook's kicks.

"Bonney!" She looked, seeing that useless Buggy holding a sword above her captain's head. _No_. Like hell she'd watch Luffy get killed. He was her captain and a crew's first duty was always to support their captain. To protect him when he couldn't protect himself. To do what he couldn't. Like hell she would watch as her captain was killed. _I won't lose someone else_. "Sorry. Looks like I'm dead." Bonney lunged but the stand was still too far away, Buggy was still out of her range as he swung down towards her grinning captain.

* * *

"Prepare all units for battle." His men began moving, Nami and Tashigi staying besides their captain as they watched the drama unfold.

"They were able to beat him last time. I guess that the element of surprise really makes a difference." Nami shifted closer to the window, her eyes scanning. Smoker watched as Buggy lifted the sword over the no name pirate.

"Bonney! Sorry. Looks like I'm dead." Smoker noted that the fighting in the square grew more frenzied, his crew clearly fighting to free him. The sword swung down, and the man grinned. Smoker froze, his cigars dropping from his mouth. It had been one thing to hear the boy shout that he wanted to take the throne that waited at the end of the sea, it was another to see that smile even as the reaper waited to claim the boy. A memory flashed, so long ago one would think it would've been blurred by time, yet it was as clear as ever to Smoker.

" _You want my treasure? You can have it!" The sun beat down, the hundreds of bodies all sweating but no one daring to miss this moment. A small child with silver hair stood in the heat, watching as the Pirate King gave his famous last words._

" _I left everything I gathered in one place!" Smoker froze, not because of the cry that rose up at the words or even the words themselves. He watched as the swords swung down and pierced Roger's heart. He watched as even in death, the Pirate King kept smiling._

The sword Buggy was holding swung down, a grin still plastered on that face, a straw hat that would become famous soon to be dyed red.

* * *

Every second felt like a year. The crowd waited with bated breath to watch another execution, so similar yet so different from the one twenty-two years ago. A cry rose from one woman, a circle of children and old men replacing the enemies that had been surrounding her. In a tower, one marine relit two cigars, eyes darkened as he waited for a pirate to fall so that he could make his move. Above the city, clouds gathered, rumbles filling the air.

And then the sky opened up and past judgement.

* * *

Bonney couldn't believe it. Only her captain, she supposed, could have enough luck that a _fucking bolt of lightning_ would save his life from execution. She swore that someone, somewhere, was laughing themselves shitless at the sheer ridiculousness. The execution platform, the same one that had held the body of the Pirate King and had stood since his execution, crumpled and lit aflame. Bonney knew that the symbol that the marines had so much faith in was doomed.

In the confusion, her opponents dropped their guard and it was a simple matter to push them aside to grab her captain, pulling him along as he dusted his hat off as if he hadn't nearly just been killed.

"Idiot! If you ever do something so stupid again, I'm going to send you into the ocean and let the fishmen eat you!" Luffy rubbed his head where Bonney had hit him, grinning even as they ran back to their ship, completely oblivious about the events happening behind them.

* * *

Smoker's teeth ground together, the taste of his cigars spiking at the action. He left Nami and Tashigi to arrest the pirates in the town square, his lower body billowing to smoke as he chased down Straw Hat. Smoker had never let a pirate get away from Loguetown and he wasn't planning on starting now, especially with a dangerous pirate. Smoker knew, he just _knew_ , that Straw Hat Luffy would become a threat to the world and he needed to end it now, before he became too strong.

He was expecting them to run, to get to their ship and set sail. Or try to, at least. Smoker was fast, and he was smart, even if he did use more direct means occasionally. What Smoker isn't, is a prophet. Which is why he was shocked when a hand closed around his shoulder, impossibly strong haki keeping him in place.

The marine captain looked over his shoulder, eyes widening in shock as he took in the face that hid beneath a heavy cloak, wind and rain seemingly falling harder around the most wanted man in the world.

"You..." The hand released Smoker and he took a step back, though he didn't run. He knew it would be useless. "Why?" The man grinned, his face shifting to accommodate the expression. It looked strange, as if the muscles weren't used to such a thing.

"What right do you have to prevent that man from setting sail?" In the next instant, he was gone.

* * *

"Wolfey!" Rubber arms wrapped around Bonney and the two shot up into the ship, Bonney screeching her indignation. Bonney began sputtering, her pink hair sticking to her head in the rain and wind.

"Did you just call the ship Wolfey?"

"Yeah. Now, let's set sail." Bonney shook her head, joining her captain in running around and steering the ship.

"Where to, Captain?" Luffy grinned wildly, one hand firmly on his hat as the other kept him on the ship's figure head.

"To the Grand Line!"

* * *

The marine base in Loguetown was in chaos. Not only had Straw Hat and his crew (of one, it seemed) escaped, but so had the other pirates they captured. Captain Smoker had just ordered a ship prepared to leave because _he was going after them_. It was the second time in a month that the commanding officer was going to abandon his post but this time no one had any idea if he was going to come back. It had quickly been decided that the Sergeant Major was also going with him as was the newest recruit, Nami. No one had any idea what to do beyond follow orders.

In his office, Captain Smoker sat with two photos in front of his face, a snail phone gripped tightly in his hand as he, Tashigi, and Nami all dripped water from the storm onto the plush carpet.

"You listen here," three cigars had been lit not five minutes ago and already they needed replacements. Tashigi was stone faced, her hand tight around the hilt of her sword and Nami looked on with raised brows. "I want bounties on both their heads to be circulating by tomorrow. They're threats." He paused here, his voice lowering and taking on an edge when he next spoke. " _The pirate king is dead_. I don't want another one up and running around anytime soon."

"Un-understood Captain Smoker sir!" The voice on the other side trembled, the snail's eyes blown wide. He didn't even bother asking what made Smoker think that this rookie would become such a threat to rival Gold Roger. "Any idea for epithets, sir?" Smoker rolled his tongue along his cigars. Nami had recounted the entire event in Orange Town and everything she knew about the two pirate rookies but that didn't change the fact that Smoker only had minimal ideas for what they should be known as.

"Yeah," he said after a pause. "I do."

* * *

It had taken the entire night for the storm to end, a night that both Bonney and Luffy spent awake and trying to stop the _White Wolf_ from capsizing. The ship shuddered and wobbled with the waves, her ropes all pulled tight and her crew doing everything to keep her afloat. The words, "Just a little bit more, Wolf. Just a little more" were often repeated through the night.

It was probably because of this that the following morning Bonney made enough food for a whole fleet. There wasn't a single morsel left.

The sun rose, and, after a short nap, the small crew set sail once more. It wasn't long before the Red Line was in sight. Bonney felt her insides shutter at the height, the entire thing making her feel small and insignificant even as her captain looked on in awe.

"How do we get to the Grand Line?" Luffy looked at his cook, his head cocking to the side.

"Reverse Mountain. It has a river that flows up and over into the Grand Line." Luffy nodded, serious face in place as he responded.

"So it's a mystery mountain." The cook rolled her eyes, not bothering to try to correct her captain, and instead focusing on steering the ship into the correct current. The ship gained speed, ocean water pulling her onward and up as her crew lost control of the rudder. For a brief moment, Bonney closed her eyes, worrying that she had calculated wrong and the ship that had been a gift would crash on the rocks and she'd drown, powerless to stop it. The moment passed and Luffy's victory shout alerted Bonney that she could open her eyes. They were sailing up reverse mountain, the river dwarfing the small caravel. At the apex, water sprayed and Luffy let out another yell of joy.

With a jolt, Bonney realized that this would be the first time her captain was going into the pirate graveyard. She grinned, heading the kitchen for a moment and returning to hand her captain a mug. With a bang they knocked their drinks together and chugged. As they let the currents guide them, they both grinned at each other.

"Welcome to the Grand Line, Captain."

* * *

Little did they know that at that very moment, stories were beginning to spread. The story of a man that looked at death with a smile and screamed his goals would become legend. Eventually, everyone from fighting chefs to long nosed cowards in the East Blue would know the story and how, as he escaped, everyone would whisper one thing, wondering if one day the proclamation would indeed be completed.

" _The King is Dead."_

Would another live?

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Matt (chapter of nami):** Story's looking good so far though I've gotta ask these two questions. 1. What about Nami and her Clima-tact? I'm pretty sure that Usopp made it for her. and 2. What will happen to our favorite octopus-man octopus ball seller?

 **First, I'm glad you're liking it so far, I hope these latest chapters don't disappoint. As for your questions, I have an idea for the clima-tact. Usopp did make it for her in cannon, but in this story, as they've never met, she'll receive the weapon from someone else. As for who, or how, I'll let you take a guess. As for the second question, Hachan's story will follow closely to cannon (check out the** _ **how**_ **he ended up free) up until the point where he meets up with them again. Luffy and the others obviously don't know him, so that'll be fun.**

 **I'd love to hear your thoughts in reviews and comments! Until next time Kitten!**

 **NEXT TIME:**

 **Baroque Works Saga; Arc 6, Twin Capes: Enter the Grand Line**


	9. Baroque Works Saga, Arc 6

**A/N: Hey Kittens! for those who hate scrolling through my long ass A/N I have good news! Any important updates or anything I want to comment on will now be done via my tumblr: kilannad. tumblr Guest comments on FF will still be done at the end of the chapters.**

 **Updated 6/4/19**

* * *

 **Baroque Works Saga; Arc 6, Twin Capes: Enter the Grand Line**

"Uh, Bonney."

"Yeah Luffy?"

"Why is there another mountain?"

Bonney swept her hair out of her face, spray from the sea making it slick and heavy. She rubbed her eyes once, trying to clear the water out of them because it was clearly making her see things.

"BUOOO!" In front of the ship a large blue figure was rising out of the sea, its call travelling over the water and filling the air.

"Is that a fucking whale?!" Bonney looked at Luffy, his eyes wide and without a shred of fear. Cursing her luck, Bonney ran into the galley and grabbed hold of the helm, pulling with all her might as she registered that the currents were too strong, and, with a snap, the rudder broke in two, sending Bonney to the ground.

It took a moment, but it seemed that the situation finally sunk in with Luffy who, with a start, ran below deck. In the next instant, a boom rang out over the call of the whale and Wolfey slowed down quickly, getting jarred when the figure head hit the thick hide of the creature and came flying off, landing near the mast.

Luffy's eyes bulged and a tick mark appeared as he looked up at the giant whale, his arms shooting backwards only to launch forwards in the next instant. "That was my seat, you asshole! **Gum-Gum Bazooka**!" Even looking as closely as she was, Bonney didn't even see the whale's skin ripple from the attack. But he must have felt something.

" **BUOOO!** " The whale shifted, waves rising from the water with the movement. It started sinking below the surface of the water only to pause once more before its head disappeared. When it opened its mouth to screech this time, water rushed in, taking the _White Wolf_ with it.

"Shit! We're being eaten!" Bonney grabbed hold of the railing with one arm, her other holding tight to Luffy as he nearly fell into the water, her eyes wide and her mouth open in a soundless scream. Luffy, meanwhile, was grinning wildly.

"Shishishi, this is awesome!" If they survived the stomach acid, Bonney may just kill him. With a lurch, the mouth closed, and the whale moved once more, causing their little caravel to speed along a path of darkness.

* * *

"Do you have an explanation for this?"

"Mystery island." Luffy gave a grave nod as he looked at the small island in front of them. A bright blue sky filled with white puffy clouds hung above them and the water gently rocked the ship.

"You know," Bonney began, sighing deeply as she rung out her hair, "Normally I'd slap you upside the head for being an idiot, but considering that we were just eaten by a whale and are now looking at an island in the middle of nowhere, I think you might be right this time."

It was at this point a giant squid rose from the water, only to be shot in the head by three harpoons. The pirates turned to look at the island, a wide man with white hair and what seemed to be flower petals coming out of his head, pulling the giant squid towards him. For the next few moments, the man secured the squid, took out a newspaper, and sat on a lawn chair, all in silence as Luffy and Bonney watched on.

"Will you say something old man?!" Bonney demanded, leaning over the rails of the _Wolf_.

"Shishishi! Hey old guy, what's your name?" Luffy added, the old man staying silent for a few more beats.

"Don't you know it's common courtesy to introduce yourself first when asking someone their name?"

"Oh right. I'm L-" Before Luffy could finish, the man cut him off.

"I'm Crocus the lighthouse keeper. I'm a Gemini and blood type AB."

"That's too much information, you ass!" Bonney was seriously considering turning Crocus into a toddler when Luffy just continued laughing.

"Oh man! That's great. Well, I'm Monkey D. Luffy, future Pirate King. This is Bonney, the best cook ever." Crocus's eyes widened for a mere moment before he returned to his impassive expression. Before he could comment, the sky and sea began to shake, Bonney stumbling into Luffy who in turn fell against the mast.

"He's up to it again."

"What the hell is going on?"

"Laboon is bashing his head against the Red Line." With that, the old man jumped into the ocean- or rather, the stomach acid.

"Wh-" Bonney's sentence was drowned out by a metal door on the far side of the whale, screams coming out of it. "Can't I ever finish a god damn sentence before something else insane happens?!" Bonney went ignored as Luffy stretched out his arms, bringing back with him two odd forms that hit the deck with a bang, splintering some of the planks. In the next moment, the whale calmed down around them.

"Why the hell did you save them?" She asked, toeing one with her foot while looking at Luffy who shrugged.

"Didn't know if they wanted to go for a swim or not."

"What does that have to do with anything?! We're pirates, why would we go around saving someone we don't know?" Another door opened and out came Crocus. What followed was a quick exchange of yells with the two now standing strangers, ending with bazookas firing towards the inside of the whale, only to be stopped by the old guy. Bonney rolled her eyes and elbowed both the strangers in the neck, looking at Luffy like he was an idiot.

"Do you see what happens when you go around and save random people?"

"Old guys get hurt?" Bonney nodded sarcastically before guiding the ship out of the whale with the help of Crocus.

* * *

"This whale is an island whale normally found in West Blue, and his name is Laboon." Crocus began, sitting down around a table that sat outside the lighthouse on the capes at the bottom of Reverse Mountain. Bonney and Luffy sat across from him, the few snacks he'd put out already gone and the two strangers were tied up on the ground next to them.

"These two idiots," he gestured at the prone forms, "Were sent from a town not far from here to kill Laboon because he could feed their entire island. As for why Laboon keeps hitting his head against the Red Line," the man sighed and looked at where the form of the whale was laying peacefully in the water, watching the ongoing meeting with interested eyes. "There's a reason for that. Years ago, a pirate group entered Reverse Mountain from the West Blue. Laboon was accompanying them. But when it was time for them to leave, Laboon stayed here with me and they promised to return after they went around the Grand Line."

"And let me guess," Bonney began, rolling her eyes, her voice dripping with distaste. "They never came back."

"Your right," Crocus said, Laboon letting out a wail as he did, "They left the Grand Line sometime after leaving here."

"So those cowards left their friend behind and saved their own skins instead of coming back for one of their own?" Bonney shook her head in disgust when Crocus nodded.

"That was fifty years ago."

"And Laboon is still waiting?" Luffy asked, his usual grin replaced with a blank face that Bonney couldn't read.

"I've told him that they won't be coming back. He won't listen. It's why he keeps bellowing at Reverse Mountain and banging his head against it. He thinks that will bring back his friends."

Before Bonney could point out the flaw of that thinking, a giant crack filled the air and Bonney looked to see Luffy now running straight up the side of Laboon with a giant piece of wood in his hands.

"Wait… IS THAT THE MAST?!" Bonney's mouth dropped as Luffy rammed the Wolf's mast into the head of the island whale. Laboon's cry filled the air and the cook grabbed her ears in a vain attempt to keep her eardrums intact.

Laboon reared up and sent Luffy flying into the Red Line. Luffy sent out a few more blows that were shaken off, followed by Laboon diving after him only to stop as Luffy's voice rang out.

"IT'S A TIE!" Laboon froze where he stood, looking at the small form of Straw Hat. "For right now, it's a tie. So, we'll have to have a rematch. My crew will sail across the world, and we'll come back to fight you afterwards."

Tears filled the whale's eyes and he roared his agreeance at Luffy, who simply grinned. With a flash, the boy disappeared into the Wolf, coming back with a few buckets of paint. Within a few moments, a childish version of their Jolly Roger was on the whale.

"Now," Luffy began, "You can't go around hitting your head or you'll wash the paint off. This is a symbol of our promise to fight again!"

"Buoo!"

"You imbecile! You can't destroy the _White Wolf_ just to make a whale happy. That's our _ship_! We have to take care of her." Bonney, unsurprisingly, only received a sheepish grin and a laugh as apology.

* * *

After Bonney fixed the mast with Crocus's help- Luffy was never allowed to touch nails again- she made enough food for the three of them, ignoring the two tied up prisoners.

"As thanks, let me explain a little about the Grand Line."

"I got a Log Pose at Loguetown," Bonney said, pausing in stuffing her face only to continue the next moment.

"I'm surprise you found one there. They're exceedingly rare outside the Grand Line. Well, no matter. That shortens things quite a bit. The Log Pose records each island's magnetic field and then guides you to the next island. From here, you have seven options, but no matter which you take, they will all lead you to the last island. The island that's very existence has only been confirmed by the Pirate King and his crew, Raftel."

"So that's are heading. Bonney! Let's head out." Of _course_ they wouldn't get a break. Why would they? It wasn't as if they'd just gotten eaten by a whale. _Oh wait-_

"Which path would you like us to take, Captain?"

"We have a request!" Before Luffy could answer, a voice rang out and they all turned to look at the two tied up whalers. "Please take us with you to Whiskey Peak."

"Whiskey Peak?" Luffy asked while Bonney replied.

"Why the hell would we help you?"

"Whiskey Peak is our home town. Please, we're begging you!" The two bowed, the rope keeping them tied making the action very awkward.

"Okay."

"Luffy!" Bonney turned to her captain and slapped him. "Why would we help them?"

"They asked for it."

"We're pirates not marines!"

"But Bonney," Luffy looked at his cook, confusion in his eyes, "It's on our way so it's okay."

Bonney, while thinking that this was ridiculous and absolutely unnecessary, had no power to change her captain's mind and thus they eventually set sail for Whiskey Peak.

"What an odd man," Crocus mumbled, watching as the ship became smaller and smaller. "He has this aura about him… What would you think, Roger?"

* * *

 **A/N: Please comment and review! I love to hear your thoughts about what's happening.**

 **Matt:** Okay so will you do a story for Hachan and I bet you'll think of someway for Ussop to get his plant ammo right?

 **OKAY MATT THANK YOU SO MUCH YOU PRECIOUS BABY. Seriously, cannot thank you enough for this. I had planned for Nami's weapon (something that will be coming up soon, so look forward to that) but I totally forgot about Usopp. Fear not, though! I have come up with a way and that plan is now in the works. So, thank you, you have my back and I appreciate you pointing out something that I would otherwise have forgotten. As for Hachi… well, honestly, I don't think his story in this is any different from in cannon. He escaped from the Marines and started that food stand of his. Anyway, thank you so much for your comment and I'm glad to see you're still reading this!**

 **NEXT TIME:**

 **Baroque Works Saga; Arc 7, Whiskey Peak: The Demon Who Hunts Bounties**


	10. Baroque Works Saga, Arc 7

**A/N: hope you enjoy the longest chapter yet!**

 **Updated 6/4/19**

* * *

 **Baroque Works Saga; Arc 7, Whiskey Peak: The Demon Who Hunts Bounties**

It took a week to get to Whiskey Peak. A week of freaky weather, short fuses, and increasingly large meals. First a typhoon had appeared out of nowhere, and with just two crewmates, it was a near thing. Ms. Wednesday and Mr. 9- as Bonney had learned they called each other- had made a few snide comments that were quickly silenced. Bonney, while still not happy about helping strangers for no gain of their own, had accepted her captain was an idiot and had gone ahead and tied up their new "companions", and, after their comments about not being prepared, had gagged them as well. Luffy, while he frowned for a moment, didn't protest and allowed the restraints.

Bonney was… confused. That was the nicest word she could use to describe herself at the moment. She respected Luffy- something she had only realized at Loguetown. Sure, she'd respected the fact that he was her captain as soon as she stepped aboard the ship at the _Baratie_ , but she'd never really thought to respect _him_. He was annoying, childish, naïve. Everything a pirate captain should never be. But at the moment the sword was about to fall at Loguetown, it hit her that she actually liked the boy. He was goofy, yes, but he had also grown on her and Bonney found herself rather attached. It made sense, considering he was her captain. But the realization that she wasn't just travelling with him because she had nothing else to do but because she actually liked him was rather startling. Which had led to some self-reflections which had in turn led to the conclusion that she respected the man.

Syrup Village, Orange Town, the _Baratie_. At all these places he had shown strength that Bonney had to admire. And not just physical strength. At Syrup especially, Luffy has shown that he knew what it meant to be a pirate captain.

And then he went and decided to help strangers. It was different then Syrup Village, Bonney told herself. Syrup Village was being attacked by that sad excuse that was ruining the name of pirates. She could understand getting involved there. But here? Where they had no connection to these people other than some freak coincidence? Bonney couldn't make sense of it. Which is why she tied up the two strangers even though the chances were that they couldn't hurt the Straw Hats. No, she was not being passive aggressive.

It was perhaps the third day when it happened. Bonney had removed the gags to feed the guests, only for an unprecedented gale to catch the sail and nearly send them flying. After that, Bonney was a little busy trying to keep from capsizing to replace the gags. Afterwards, when they were finally calming down, she heard the two snickering about how unprepared the two were. Before she could go slap them upside the head, flapping wings filled the air and a news-coo landed on the railing of the Wolf.

Ignoring the idiots, Bonney paid for the paper, the bird flying off, and opened it up. Papers flew to the ground and Bonney picked up the newest bounty posters.

"Holyshit!" she yelled, her voice high in her surprise. Luffy came down from his seat on the figure head, looking over Bonney's shoulder at the papers in her hand.

"Oh! That's awesome, shishishi!"

In Bonney's hands were two slips of paper that had the World Government's emblem on the bottom, text and an image filling the rest of the pages.

 **Wanted**

 **Dead or Alive**

 **Monkey D. "Straw Hat" Luffy**

 **35,000,000 Beries**

The image was of Luffy grinning on the execution stand, the tip of the sword that was swinging down just barely visible on the edge and Buggy's foot on the stockade in the background. The straw hat was clearly visible and revealed his scar on his face.

 **Wanted**

 **Dead or Alive**

" **Age Witch" Jewelry Bonney**

 **15,000,000 Beries**

Her image was one from when she'd been fighting Buggy's men, her arms spread out and her hands parallel to the ground as she was surrounded by small children and old men, her face set in determined lines as she crouched to avoid a sword above her.

"You rookies realizing that there are big fish in the sea?" Mr. 9 snickered off to the side. Wednesday joined in with the laughing.

"I hope you'll drop us off before you run for the hills." Smirking to herself, Bonney turned the papers around and held them in front of the agents.

"What were you saying about bounties?" Both went immediately pale, looking from the photos to the pirates.

"Y-you h-have bounties?!" Wednesday's voice went high and she tried scooting back, only to hit the white railing of the Wolf.

"H-how are you worth more than thirty million?!" 9 added, his voice going several octaves higher.

"Shishishi! I guess someone decided that we were worth a lot."

"My guess," Bonney began, smirking down as their two captives tried to regain their composure, "Is that we pissed off Smoker and he decided we were a threat."

"Oh, Smokey! I wonder if we'll see him again."

"W-well, this is the Grand Line. A measly thirty million is nothing compared to some of the other pirates out here." Bonney rolled her eyes at Wednesday's bravado, turning on her heal and heading into the kitchen to start a meal to celebrate.

After another meal that caused the two whalers to cringe in disgust, Bonney settled next to Luffy on the figure head.

"So, Captain."

"Yeah Bonney?"

"What's the plan?"

Luffy's head tilted to the side, his hat shifting in the wind as he did so. "Plan?"

"Yeah. You decided to take these guys to their island, but what about after that?"

"We'll find an adventure." Bonney sighed, so confused about her captain that she simply decided to go along with it.

"Whatever you say, Captain."

* * *

When Whiskey Peak came into sight, Luffy was practically hanging off the figure head he was so excited. While busy trying to stop her captain from falling into the ocean, Bonney didn't notice their captives untying themselves until she heard the splash and looked over the railing to see them swimming to shore.

"Bye guys!" Luffy said when he, too, noticed their guests leaving.

Bonney rolled her eyes- an action that was becoming increasingly common on the ship- and, with the help of Luffy, began pulling the ship into the small river that took them inland. The mist was cast over the island, large, indistinguishable mounds that Bonney guessed were mountains filling in the background.

"Hello!" Luffy called into the mist, his voice disappearing with no response.

"I can make out the shoreline, Luffy," Bonney reported, using the helm to guide the ship into port. With a loud splash, the ship stopped and Bonney, again with Luffy's help, dropped the anchor, the mist and unnatural silence that had persisted dissolving into a clear view of the shore and the events taking place on it.

Several bodies seemed to be lying, prone, on the ground, blood traveling in rivulets around them. What appeared to be an angry horde stood facing the shore. Or rather, facing the single man that stood on the shore with three swords drawn. Even in the low light of the overcast day, his green hair and now-red blades glinted. The man lunged, his blades moving with speed and grace that even Luffy- who knew nothing about sword fighting- had to admire.

"In the name of Davy Jones! How the hell do we keep stumbling onto battle grounds?!" Bonney cursed again for good measure, even as she followed her laughing captain in jumping onto the shore.

"Shit, pirates!" Someone in the crowd shouted and the mass of people quickly formed a crescent to trap the three intruders against the beach.

"They're the ones we warned you about," a very familiar voice pointed out, and the pirates heard more cursing.

"H-he has a 35,000,000 bounty?"

"That's not possible!"

The green haired man turned to eye Luffy with interest, and Luffy stared at him blankly as he tried to place why he looked so familiar.

"List- ma ma ma!- listen here. While we may not have had time to set a trap, there are only three enemies. We can handle it."

"Wow, we literally just landed. How are we enemies already?" Bonney stretched her arms above her head, followed by twisting her torso and letting her back pop. "Whatever, guess we are pirates. Most civilians just wouldn't want to fight us."

"They aren't civilians," the green haired man said around the hilt of a sword. _Wait,_ Bonney paused in her stretching that Luffy had joined her in, _who puts a sword in their mouth?_ "They're bounty hunters."

"Oh, does that mean you have a bounty Mr. Green Guy?" Bonney snickered at the nickname and Luffy grinned even wider. He loved making his crewmates happy.

"The name's Roronoa Zoro. And no, I'm a bounty hunter. They just aren't very pleased with me."

"I'm afraid you'll have to die now. You seem to know too much about our organization. 'Mystery' is our policy, you understand," Ms. Wednesday said, coming forward next to her partner and another couple, one a large black woman in a checkered dress and the other a man with large rolls of blonde hair. Wait, how was she caught up with the situation, Bonney wondered. They had left the ship barely fifteen minutes ago.

"I told you I would join if I could be the boss." Zoro smirked and seemed to relish the way they went red with fury. That seemed to be the end of their leashes, because in the next instant the hoard was charging forward, swords and guns pointing towards their enemies. Luffy grinned from ear to ear, not bothered in the slightest by the sudden onslaught of attacks.

Straw Hat stepped in front of Zoro, his arms and legs spread as a volley of bullets hit him.

"What are yo-" Zoro cut off abruptly as Luffy's skin stretched to accommodate the projectiles, only for it to return to normal with a snap and screams of pain as the bullets hit those wielding guns.

"He has Devil Fruit powers!" Someone called, and those wielding rifles quickly backed off, a hoard of swordsmen taking their places. Before Luffy could launch a counter attack, the green haired man stepped up and his blades swiped across the charging forms, pausing to look at Luffy when it was clear those who could still stand were regrouping and not attacking immediately.

"You ate a Devil Fruit?"

"Yep!" Luffy grinned, "I ate the **Gum-Gum Fruit** so now I'm a rubber man." A yawn from off to the side made them turn, only to see Bonney leaning against a nearby building, completely at ease and surrounded by old men and crying toddlers.

"Are you two done? I've been waiting for you to finish." Luffy pouted and stuck out his tongue at his cook.

"Making it so they can't fight is cheating."

"How is using my Devil Fruit cheating? That would mean you stretching is cheating!"

"Nuh-uh. People can still fight back against me, so it's not cheating."

"Ugh, even if you were right- which you're not- we're pirates! It doesn't matter if we cheat!"

Luffy pouted when he had no good response to that and let the matter slide, both pirates effectively ignoring Zoro who sweat dropped at their little display.

"So," Bonney began, looking at Zoro after finishing her argument with Luffy. "What's going on here?"

"Baroque Works. It's a secret organization of bounty hunters where they know nothing about each other or their boss. They tried to recruit me. Weren't too happy when I refused." The man grinned again, and Bonney decided that he looked like a demon, what with the wispy light casting shadows and his swords- he'd sheathed the white one but the other two were still held loosely in his hands- dripping blood onto the ground.

"Ah, so a mystery group," Luffy added, head nodding as if this all made perfect sense. Of course, this meant that it actually didn't. Bonney hit him upside the head and a lump quickly formed as he rubbed his head meekly.

"Why'd you hit me?"

"Felt like it."

"Oh. Okay." Zoro's head tilted to the side and he wondered again if these two were a comedy act and not pirates at all.

"I suppose we'll have to take care of this ourselves."

With less than fifty members assisting them, the four numbered members advanced. Zoro broke away easily from the advancing forms, many of them falling to the ground and not getting up any time soon. A barrel lashed out at him from somewhere, though it was cut into several pieces before it came anywhere near him.

"What a waste of good alcohol." Before he had time to refocus on fighting, he hit the ground to avoid a punch, only for an arm thick with muscles to come down and hold his body pinned as a hand wearing a pair of brass knuckles punched him in the face. While he didn't feel anything break, blood dribbled down his face as he stood with sudden speed and began crushing a woman- Ms. Monday, he remembered her being called- in his hand. She passed out with a sudden gurgle.

 **Zoro vs Ms. Monday**

 **Winner: Zoro**

"Who's next?" Zoro asked, his tongue flicking out to lick the blood falling down his face, his eyes bright and excited. Suddenly, everyone understood why this bounty hunter was known as a demon.

* * *

While Zoro took down Ms. Monday and the remaining grunts that filled the town, Luffy and Bonney dealt with their own opponents.

Bonney dodged bullets, rolling out of the way as Luffy blocked for her.

"Did shotguns just come out of his hair?!" Bonney screeched, her own voice over powering Luffy's "So cool!"

In the next moment, a quack filled the air and Bonney again had to duck, only this time to avoid an actual duck.

"Carue! I told you to turn!" Wednesday and the duck she was riding on went flying past a very confused Bonney, only for the rosette to be distracted by Mr. 9 flying at her with two metal bats. Bonney bent her upper body and, after Mr. 9 had past her, kicked out at his back, sending him into the now returning Wednesday. Meanwhile, Luffy sent out a punch that Mr. 8 barely had time to dodge sending the man skittering back. Bullets began firing but had no effect on Straw Hat and Mr. 8 cursed at Devil Fruits for making his life so much harder. He heard crying and turned to see two toddlers wearing clothes much too large for their frames. His moment of distraction cost him and in the next instant a fist landed squarely in his face. His head hit the ground with a crack and blackness covered him within moments, much like the now fully grown Wednesday and Mr. 9 team.

 **Luffy and Bonney vs Mr. 9 Team and Mr. 8**

 **Winner: Luffy and Bonney**

Zoro walked over to the grinning Luffy and Bonney, looking at them with begrudging respect.

"So, you're both Devil Fruit users?"

"Yep," Luffy began, pulling his cheek out past its normal length. "Hey, Mr. Zoro dude, you should join my crew!"

"Why would I do that?" Zoro wiped the blood off his swords and sheathed them, making a comment under his breath about "dealing with problem children later", he turned to regard Luffy again. He scoffed before he continued. "Pirates are scum, there's no reason for me to become one."

"Captain," Bonney began, picking up a green hat from where it lay on the ground and putting it on after a moment's consideration. "You sure you want him on our crew?"

Luffy was silent for a moment, his face blank as he looked at the bounty hunter in front of him. Abruptly, his face broke into a grin that seemed too big for his face.

"Yep. I've decided that he's joining the crew!"

"You can't just go around deciding that!" Anything else Zoro was about to say was interrupted by the sound of moving bodies. They turned to see Mr. 8 and Ms. Wednesday stand up but were again distracted by the light sound of laughter.

"Kyahaha, this entire outpost was taken out by three measly rookies? How pathetic!" Walking down the street, the click click of their heels accompanying them in the otherwise quiet evening, a man wearing a red trench coat with the number five emblazoned on it and a woman whose dress and accessories betrayed her love of lemons came closer, a sneer painted on each of their faces.

"M-Mr. 5, Ms. Valentine." Mr. 8 stood up, swallowing thickly as he raised himself from the rubble of his previous battle. "It wasn't necessary for you to come out here. We can handle this."

"You think we came all this way out here to help you?" Mr. 5's face curled into an even deeper sneer. "Stop joking. The boss' words were 'someone has found out my secret'. Turns out, a few spies managed to infiltrate Baroque Works." From where they stood off to the side, the pirates could see Mr. 9 come to as his partner and Mr. 8 paled considerably.

"The spies came from a certain kingdom, and we just can't let that pass." In a flash of movement, Mr. 8 was standing up and had his hair pointed towards the officers. Bullets flew only to be interrupted by an explosion.

"That's right," Mr. 5 said over the sounds of falling rubble and fire, "The spies are none other than Igaram, Head of Alabasta's Royal Guard," Valentine disappeared in the smoke, revealing herself as she fell from the sky and lashed out at Wednesday, the woman's blue hair falling around her shoulders as her hair piece broke. "And Crown Princess of Alabasta, Nefertari Vivi!"

Wednesday, or rather, Princess Vivi allowed her face to contort in rage even as Valentine settled herself next to her partner.

"You're a princess?!" Mr. 9 exclaimed looking at Vivi- who quickly yelled at him that now was not the time- in bewilderment. Despite his apparent naivety, when Valentine stepped forward, Mr. 9 was quick to come in between her and his partner.

"I don't really know what's going on, but you're still the same partner I've worked with. Get going and I'll hold them off." Vivi protested but was pushed towards the slowly rising Igaram.

"Bye-bye, Baby." Despite rushing at the officer agents with surprising speed, Mr. 9 was hit with what appeared to be Mr. 5's booger before another explosion enveloped him and sent the recovering Igaram flying again, this time towards the three pirates.

"What a loud night," Zoro commented drily, his hand twitching towards his swords. Bonney nodded her head in agreement. Luffy made a small, startled noise and they all looked down at their feet to find Igaram with his arms wrapped around Luffy's feet.

"Please! You all have shown such strength. These two are ability users. I can't stop them, but you can. Protect Princess Vivi in my stead! Take her back to Alabasta and you'll be rewarded."

"Dude, I'm not a part of this pirate crew," Zoro said only for Luffy to contradict him the next instant.

"Yes, you are. I said you're joining my crew, so you are." Before they derailed into an argument that Bonney knew Zoro would lose, she spoke up.

"Reward? How about a couple hundred thousand beries?"

"But Bonney. I thought you didn't want us helping people."

"I don't help people for free. If they promise to pay us though… that's a different story." The chef grinned at the pale man before her and Luffy nodded his head in understanding.

Meanwhile, Vivi mounted Carue and sped off into the town. "I can't promise that much," Igaram began, his voice shaking much like his body. "But if you take her to Alabasta, I'm sure the King will reward you." Bonney regarded him for a moment before looking to Luffy.

"Decision is yours, Captain."

Luffy simply grinned, one hand on his hat. "It's an adventure." Bonney nodded and stood, beginning to head in the direction Vivi had run off to.

"Come on, Zoro. We got a princess to save."

"What point of I'm not part of this crew don't you understand?!"

"If you won't come willingly, then we'll just have to make you." The tick marks over Zoro's face disappeared as he stared at the goofy looking kid in front of him. _Did he just… threaten me?!_ Luffy grinned widely and lunged, Zoro dodged on instinct and the rubber boy went off to the side where he…

Grabbed Zoro's swords and ran, shouting "If you want your swords back you'll have to join us!" Bonney sighed but bolted after her captain nonetheless, Zoro chasing them after a moment of dumbstruck confusion.

* * *

By the time Zoro reached Luffy, Straw Hat was standing in the middle of the street waiting for him, his three swords held in one rubbery hand.

"Give back my swords."

"Join my crew." It seemed the boys had interrupted some typical antagonists' dialogue, as Mr. 5 and his partner both grew agitated and stepped forward only to be sent back by the shock wave created from Zoro and Luffy's fists meeting. Zoro used the opportunity of being close to lunge for his sword, but Luffy saw the attack coming and moved out of the way. Mr. 5, who was behind him, pulled his arm back for a punch only for Luffy to side step it and kick him so fast that the bomb man didn't have time to explode.

Zoro lunged again, this time stopping short and narrowly missing something landing on him from the sky. Valentine stepped up from the crater in the ground, facing Zoro and Luffy as her partner came up beside her. The two men turned towards them, their faces set in angry scowls, even as they spoke in unison.

"Gods you two are annoying. STOP GETTING IN THE WAY!" Two fists flew forward, the officer agents, too slow to dodge, were sent flying backwards into a building.

* * *

"H-how…?" Vivi said where she stood a few feet behind where the fighting was happening, her duck shifting uneasily under her.

"Don't worry, Princess," Bonney began, coming up next to her with the leg of some poor animal in her hand. "We've been promised a reward in exchange for taking you home so that's what we're going to do. Just let the captain finish recruiting green head over there and we'll be on our way." Vivi seemed extremely confused about a lot of things in that but settled for one thing first.

"This… is how he recruits members?"

"Mine was a lot more peaceful, if that makes you feel better."

Surprisingly, it didn't. But Vivi returned to watching the… recruitment process anyway.

* * *

Zoro paused in his attacks, ignoring the groans and moving rubble coming from the building he'd just sent a woman flying into, he regarded the boy in front of him.

"Are you the son of the devil?" Luffy grinned, somehow knowing he'd won.

"Monkey D. Luffy, future King of the Pirates!"

Zoro held out his hands even as the click click of Valentine's heels and the grumbling threats of Mr. 5 brought them closer. Luffy held out the three sheathes in his hands and, if it was possible, grinned even wider.

Pulling his three swords out, Zoro matched the pirate's grin with his own smirk around the hilt of the _Wado Ichimonji_. "I have my own goals." Luffy cocked his head to the side ever so slightly and Bonney stood up straighter, waiting to see what her newest crewmate was hoping to achieve.

"I will become the World's Greatest Swordsman! I don't care if my name is clean or not… Good guy, bad guy, it no longer matters so long as I can spread the name Roronoa Zoro!" _I will be so great my name reaches the heavens._ "I will not stop, and if you get in the way of that," _Promise me one of us will become the World's Greatest,_ "I will cut your stomach open and you'll have to apologize." _I will not stop, Kuina. Not for anyone._

"Sounds good. If you want to sail with the Pirate King, I'd be embarrassed if you couldn't even become something as easy as the World's Greatest Swordsman." Zoro twirled on his feet, his swords lashing out and sending the two agents who had been coming closer flying before he once again faced his captain.

"Well said, Captain." Bonney came closer as Zoro spoke, whacking them both upside the head as she did so.

"Great, real touching. Can we get out of here now? You seem to have forgotten we've just been hired to return a princess to her country. I want to get this done within the fortnight."

"Wh-why would you take me back to my home?" Vivi said, removing herself from Carue and coming closer.

Bonney grinned widely at the princess, her entire face the picture of pirate wickedness. "For the reward of course." Vivi blushed and sputtered for a few moments before finally settling into some form of dignity.

"I don't think you understand. My kingdom is in disarray. We can't afford to pay a hefty reward."

"What's wrong with your country, Princess chick?" Luffy asked, walking into a building only to return with a pile of apples in his hands, devouring them while glaring at Zoro after he tried to take one.

"I come from the kingdom of Alabasta. It's highly civilized and peaceful… or it was, long ago." Here she took a breath, setting her shoulders as she did so. "In recent years, radical revolutionaries have gained steam, and it has thrown my country into chaos. One day, I heard of a group called Baroque Works. They were the ones causing the revolts, but I couldn't find anything else out. So, I infiltrated the group with Igaram." Luffy nodded along as if he understood all of this, which Bonney was seriously doubting.

"Well, aren't you a brave princess." Bonney looked to Zoro as he spoke, surprised to find no sarcasm in his tone or face, instead it was set in surprised lines with just a hint of respect.

Stopping herself from continuing to observe her new comrade- who was taking this all surprisingly well for someone who hadn't wanted to join two minutes ago- Bonney turned back to Vivi, looking at her expectantly. "So, what's Baroque Works doing starting a revolution?"

Vivi's head tilted forward, her bangs swinging in front of her face and Zoro registered her hands clenching. The swordsman looked to his new captain, Luffy munching on apples noisily as he watched on with a blank face. While most would have missed it, Zoro was not most people and he noticed the rubber man's eyes darting to Vivi's hands. Based on the almost-too-quiet-to-hear sigh that Bonney released, Zoro guessed she saw it too and it meant they were about to do something that the woman had resigned herself to.

"They want to take over Alabasta to make a Utopia. The higher ranked you are in Baroque Works, the better your standing in this Utopia."

"So, they want to take over your kingdom?" Luffy's head tilted at the tight tone that Bonney used, the last of the apple cores disappearing down his throat.

"Yes, and I need to hurry back, or they'll succeed." Bonney and Zoro nodded, the former looking strangely agitated, and both turning to look at Luffy for his thoughts on the matter.

"Who's this boss guy?" Vivi's face paled instantly, her head shaking back and forth causing her blue pony tail to swing.

"You mean the boss of Baroque Works?! No no no no. I can't tell you that." Luffy seemed about to protest when Vivi calmed some and continued. "No matter how strong you guys are, you're not equipped to face up against Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea." There was a single beat of silence before Vivi's eyes widened and her hands went up to cover her mouth.

"Didn't you just tell us?" Zoro said, leaning back on his hands and looking slightly amused.

"What's a Warlord of the Sea?" Luffy asked, looking around for an answer.

"Idiot. I'll explain on the ship. I think we should get going, considering the bird and otter that just flew off." Bonney stood up straighter and Luffy and Zoro followed suit. Vivi looked even more horrified at the two forms that had quickly become small dots in the sky.

"Those are the Unluckies! They'll report this to the boss."

"So, you're saying that your big mouth just got us targeted by a Warlord?!" Bonney slapped the princess on the head, words growling under her breath as she turned to her captain. "I won't forgive you for this."

"So, Luffy." Zoro said, breaking the tension. "What's the plan?"

"Bonney said boss guy will come after us, right? So, we go to him and kick his ass first. We can bring Vivi home on the way."

"Oh, if we're going to stop the war by defeating Crocodile, I can discuss rewards with the King afterwards." Bonney looked much more satisfied knowing they would get their payment and she turned to Vivi with a satisfied smirk on her face. "What do you say, Princess?"

"This is satisfactory," another voice said, an oddly dressed Igaram coming up beside them.

"Igaram!" Vivi turned to hug him, stopping short at his attire. "Wh-what are you wearing?"

"Princess, please go with these pirates. If you follow the Log Pose normally, you should arrive at Alabasta Kingdom in a few islands. In the meantime, I'll take the Eternal Pose and serve as a distraction. Please, don't worry about me and we'll meet again in Alabasta."

"But Igar-!" Igaram placed his hands on the princess's shoulder, shaking her ever so lightly.

"You must make it back to Alabasta. No matter what Princess, you are the hope of the Kingdom!" Vivi nodded and they said their farewells, Igaram boarding a small boat and setting out to sea. The four companions turned on their heels, Bonney opening her mouth to make a comment only to stop.

 **BOOM**.

Heat enveloped the area, bright flames rising from the ocean where a small boat had been moments ago.

"IGARAM!" Vivi tried lunging towards the water, but a thin arm stopped her.

"We gotta get going," Bonney said, face set in grim lines. "We can't let his sacrifice be in vain."

"He was a good man!" Bonney turned to Luffy, her captain's face set and angry. It reminded her, suddenly, of Syrup Village. This time, she could understand the anger.

"I won't forgive them for this." Bonney added, pulling on Vivi to take her away from the water's edge.

"We need to get to the ship," Zoro said, taking a step in the direction of what he thought was the ship.

"You're going the wrong way, idiot!" Bonney shouted, starting to run in the right direction with her comrades close behind her. Gods, he better not be as stupid as he looked.

"Igaram…" Vivi whispered, her lips bleeding from where she'd bitten them. Zoro left the princess to Bonney and jumped on board the ship he'd seen them come on, Luffy and Bonney joining him only to stop short at what they saw in front of them.

"A… duck?" Luffy said, tilting his head so far his hat nearly fell off.

"Carue!" Vivi shouted, running up to her pet.

Accepting the duck as another guest, the pirates quickly begun setting off from the dock and heading towards the ocean. After a few stumbles and running into Bonney once or twice, Zoro fell into the swing of things, learning the mechanics of the ship easily.

"There's too much mist, I can't see shit! Someone, get up top and give me directions," Bonney called out from the helm, Zoro tying down the rope he held and quickly climbing up the mast and ending up in the crow's nest. The mist was thick near the water but Zoro could see well enough.

"Rocks at two o'clock!" He called down, the ship shifting to avoid them just before contact. "Shallows on the port side!" Bonney again directed the ship and Luffy let out a "Whoop!" of joy at the water spray in his face at his seat on the figure head. They thus made their way down the river and towards the sea, Zoro calling out obstacles and Vivi occasionally piping in with information she had on the rivers. Soon enough the mouth of the river was visible and the _White Wolf_ sailed out into the blue waters of the ocean.

"Oh my, congratulations on your escape. I'm glad someone stayed lookout for the rocks," a lilting voice said from the banister overlooking the deck of the Wolf.

"Miss All Sunday!" At the pure hatred in Vivi's voice, Zoro jumped off the crow's nest, landing lightly next to the dark haired woman with _Wado_ leveled at her neck.

"Care to tell me who you are?" Zoro said, his voice low and calm.

"And why are you on our ship?!" Luffy shouted up at the woman from where he now stood by the mast and the other two women on the ship.

"Fufufu, how entertaining you all are." The intruder gave a light smile, some cross between a smirk and a grin, even as Vivi spoke.

"She's Miss All Sunday, she's the partner of Mr. 0 and the only one who knows his identity."

"So, she's a bad guy," Luffy said, Bonney sighing deeply at him as he did.

"Yes, idiot. She is. Want us to take her out now?" Zoro's sword glinted even more in the fading evening light. All Sunday gave another light laugh.

"Please don't point such a vulgar weapon at me." Something too quick for Zoro to identify slapped his wrist, _hard_. In his shock, his hand loosened and his sword clattered to the ground. In the next moment, something pushed him over the railing and he hit the deck next to Bonney. "And why would you fight me now, I am under no orders and I have no intention to attack you." She paused here, her eyes flicking over to the captain of the ship.

"So, you're the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates." Out of nowhere, Luffy's hat flitted up to the Baroque Works agent.

"Oi! Give me back my hat!" Luffy's face contorted in anger, which All Sunday ignored.

"How adorable," she began, the straw hat twirling around her fingers. "A rookie crew going up against Baroque Works for a single princess, and a single princess enlisting a rookie crew." Another small smile was sent towards them. "It's funny. Especially since you'll never make it to Alabasta with the way your Log is pointing. The next island is called Little Garden. You'll all die without ever even meeting Crocodile." Vivi's face paled considerably and she barely caught the small object that was thrown at her. She gazed at the small needle in front of her as Luffy's hat landed on his head.

"That," All Sunday said, "Is an Eternal Pose to the uninhabited island right before Alabasta. If you take that, you'll be safe."

"And why," Bonney said, looking at the woman sitting on the rails of her ship, "Should we trust you?" The amused smile disappeared, replaced by cool indifference.

"Do what you will, just don't say I wasn't friendly." Before anyone could come up with a response to that, Luffy grabbed the Eternal Pose from Vivi, his rubber hands wrapping around and crushing it in one smooth move.

"Idiot," Bonney mumbled, Zoro raising his eyes at the action.

"Don't you dare think you can chose the path of our journey!" Luffy yelled as Miss All Sunday lifted her brows and hopped over the side of the ship, landing on a large turtle.

"How amusing. Do as you wish, Straw Hat." With that, the enemy disappeared into the quickly darkening night.

"Are you sure you're okay with me being here?" Vivi said, looking slightly put out and worried about the situation. "I could be leading you into danger."

Bonney snorted, "Too late for that. They know our faces now, we're in this." Something small fluttered from the railing and Bonney bent down to pick up a small piece of paper with neat handwriting on it.

"What is it?" Luffy asked, coming up next to her.

"A note. _You have an ally waiting for you at Nanohana._ What the hell does that mean?"

"Eh, who knows. Oh, it's night time. BONNEY! FOOD!" The chef made her way to the kitchen and soon enough the three pirates, princess and duck were all seated around the gallery of the Wolf, some stuffing their faces more than others.

"Do they always eat like this?" Vivi asked, trying in vain to hide her disgust as Bonney and Luffy fought over food like wild animals.

"Probably." Zoro, seemingly having no problem with the table manners of his crewmates, downed a fourth bottle of sake, reaching for another.

"Oh," Bonney said suddenly, grabbing another slice of pizza and not pausing as she spoke. "Thanks Zoro, for the guiding in the river."

"Oh yeah!" Luffy piped up, swallowing a leg of meat, bones and all. "You did great. I hereby vote that you become our new lookout!" Bonney nodded her agreement and Zoro shrugged his.

"You know," Bonney leaned back against the wall, whipping her face on her hand. "It's all fun and good we have a lookout, but there are some important roles on this ship that need to be filled, too."

"I agree," Luffy said, also finishing his meal. "We need a musician."

Bonney slapped his head again, cursing him as she did so. "There are more important things. Like a navigator."

"I thought you were the navigator," Zoro added.

"I'm the cook, damnit! I only know basic navigation skills. We also need a doctor, and a helmsman wouldn't hurt either. It'd also be nice to have a shipwright."

"You don't have a navigator?" Vivi looked horrified at the prospect. "That's the number one way to guarantee you die in the Grand Line. These waters are dangerous."

Luffy nodded, looking serious for once. "Then on the next island we'll find a navigator."

"Speaking of navigation," Bonney turned to look at Vivi, "What's an Eternal Pose?"

"Oh! It's like a Log Pose but it remembers the island it points to. Most get one of their home island so they can find their way back." Bonney nodded in understanding, standing up to begin picking up plates. Normally, she wouldn't have even considered doing it, but she'd learned that on this ship, if she didn't clean, then no one would. And if she had no clean dishes, they didn't eat. Which simply wasn't a possibility.

"What's a Log Pose?" Everyone turned to look at Zoro, Luffy confused and the other two dumbfounded.

"I-if you don't know what a Log Pose is," Vivi began, her voice a little shaky.

"Then how the hell did you get to Whiskey Peak?" Bonney finished, abandoning her dishes for the moment.

"What do you mean? I sailed there." Bonney through her hands up in the air.

"You can't have sailed there. To find an island in the Grand Line without a Log Pose is a one in a billion chance."

Zoro shrugged, finishing the last bottle he had and leaning back more fully against the table. "A pink haired midget from my home sea told me someone I was looking for was near the entrance to the Grand Line. I set out, went through a couple really weird events, and landed at the bounty hunter camp. End of story." Vivi and Bonney stared blankly at the man, not registering what he said. Luckily, Luffy provided a distracting.

"Pink haired midget…?" His face scrunched up and went red before breaking out in a wide grin. "Oh! That's why you seem familiar, I saw you in Shells Town!"

Zoro's head tilted to the side, eyebrows raised. "When were you in Shells Town?"

"I kicked the axe hand guy's ass. While we were there, Koby freed a green haired guy, that must have been you." The swordsman hummed in acceptance, not nearly as outraged as Bonney.

"Wa-wait wait wait. Does that mean you're from the East Blue?!" Zoro nodded, still slightly confused at Bonney's expression. "Did you cross Reverse Mountain?"

"Why would I cross a mountain?" Bonney's face went pale and she slapped her hand to her face, the smack echoing in the sudden silence.

"Oh! Does that mean that there was another way to go?" Luffy seemed dejected at the idea that there was a path he hadn't even known about.

"The only other way is through the Calm Belt." Vivi turned to Zoro. "Mr. Bushido, when you went sailing did you go south?" He paused for a moment to consider the question.

"Now that you mention it, it did get way warmer."

"So, he did go south. Is that a bad thing?" Luffy asked, turning to face the blank stares of his companions.

At the women's silence, Zoro added, "And there were also a bunch of Sea Kings but I managed to avoid most of them."

"Yo-you made it to the Grand Line by pure chance." Bonney began mumbling, pulling her hair as she did so. "He got so lost that he made it to where he wanted to go." She kept shaking her head as she returned to the dishes, movements sluggish as if she was doing it by pure muscle memory. "What kind of person can do that?"

"Err, someone care to explain?" Zoro looked to Vivi and she humored the man, her own head spinning. After explaining the way the four Blues collided at Reverse Mountain and the different oceans including the Calm Belts and Grand Line, Viv paused to catch her breath. Zoro nodded to himself.

"So, I'm just awesome." For some reason, the thought pleased Zoro immensely and he had the sudden urge to brag to someone, though he wasn't sure who.

* * *

 _ **Baratie**_

"ACHOO!" Everyone in the kitchen paused to stare at the blonde sous chef.

"Damn Sanji. You okay?" One of the cooks asked.

"Yeah…" he paused, rubbing his nose as his eyebrows furrowed. "For some reason, I have the strong urge to kick someone's ass."

* * *

 _ **White Wolf**_

"It means you're an idiot. No one is lucky enough to survive this sea like that." Bonney mumbled.

"Oh, that's right. You guys need to know what you're getting into." Seeing she had their attention, Vivi explained the Warlord system and how Crocodile was seen as a hero despite really being a pirate. Afterwards they all settled into a comfortable silence, accompanied by the sound of water and dishes. Eventually the princess's soft voice rose up.

"The note that was left… what do you think it means?"

"Who knows? I don't even know what Nanohana is." Zoro got up and headed towards where he knew they kept the sake. A quick slap from Bonney, however, sent him grumbling back to his seat.

"It's a port in Alabasta. I was actually planning on us stopping there."

"Then it's simple," Luffy piped up. "We have a friend waiting in Nanohono."

"Nanohana," Vivi corrected on instinct, "And I wouldn't be so sure. The note was left by All Sunday."

"Eh, we'll deal with it when it comes up." Zoro rose with a stretch and a yawn. "So where do I sleep?"

"Oh yay! Someone new to come sleep with me!" Luffy grinned widely, ignoring the gaping faces of Vivi and Zoro.

Bonney sighed and rolled her eyes at her captain. "You mean someone else. Now that Zoro's here, I'm moving my stuff to the girl's room." At the looks she received from the others she added, "He doesn't like sleeping in a room by himself. Hell if I know why, but just set up one of the extra hammocks and you'll be fine." She turned to Vivi with a smile. "You can either sleep with them, or share a bed with me in what is supposed to be the captain's quarters." Choosing to follow Bonney out of the galley, Vivi said her goodnights.

As she dressed for bed, the princess's mind kept on a loop, flitting from the odd crew that now escorted her to the note that she kept having uneasy feelings about to the thoughts of Igaram she tried to push away.

The sea rocked her as she tried in vain to sleep. It wasn't until Bonney threw an arm over her, snores ruffling her blue locks, that her mind finally shut off.

* * *

 **A/N: The long awaited Zoro has arrived! What did y'all think about his introduction? Please review and comment, love hearing from you guys!**

 **Guest (chapter 1):** Great story and a very interesting premise. That crew tho would be unstoppable in the current one piece story.

 **If you mean pre time-skip, then yes I think that all of them together are a little over the top. Post time skip though… with how things went in Whole Cake Island I think they kinda need to be over powered.**

 **Micheal:** Will a supernova possibly be a baroque works agent or at least a ally of the group.

 **WE HAVE A WINNER. You are right, one of the supernovas (not telling you which but feel free to throw out guesses) will in fact be showing up in Alabasta. As a reward for your great guess, let me give you another pearl of information: by the supernova in Alabasta will be the seventh supernova we meet, including Luffy, Bonney, and now Zoro.**

 **Matt:** Meh. I mean while I do like the story, so far there's only two people on the crew compared to the five in canon. Also thanks for the compliments.

 **Nice to see you again man, and I know, having a cast of two is kinda… eh? I've been having trouble with it myself but I thought having too many of the Supernovas in East Blue would kinda cause East Blue to become a blood bath. Can you imagine Kidd and Bege in the East Blue? But fear not! From now on, we will be getting more members fairly quickly.**

 **Guest (chapter 9):** Short transition chapter but fun and well written.

 **Yep! Twin Capes was always really short in cannon so I kept it similar to that. Next chapter will be short too, I'm afraid.**

 **NEXT TIME:**

 **Mini Series- Checking in with the World, Chapter 4; A New Creation**


	11. Mini Series Chapter 4

**A/N: WOW so much reception for the last chapter. I guess the hint that someone would be coming up in Alabasta made everyone excited. Well, a little late and I don't actually have to next chapter written yet- a new thing for me, usually I only post when the next chapter is already done- but here it is!**

 **Note; I'll now start adding the guest responses from FF to the AN on ao3.**

 **Updated 6/4/19**

* * *

 **Mini Series- Checking in with the World, Chapter 4; A New Creation**

Nami stood at attention in front of Smoker on the deck of their ship. Waves gently rolled the still vessel and the wind was calm.

"Seaman Apprentice Nami, for your quick thinking, unmatched navigation skills, and your service to Justice, you are hereby promoted to the rank of Petty Officer." Nami saluted smartly as a cheer rose out from the other sailors on the ship. Smoker turned to Captain Hina, the pink haired woman that had brought the news of Nami's promotion.

"There. I was formal and everything. Are you happy now?"

"Yes. Hina is happy." She turned to look at Nami. "At ease. Congratulations on your promotion." The redhead grinned. It was supposed to be a simple capture mission of some rookies that had begun causing trouble. Captain Smoker had commanded the ship brought closer, so they could board the pirates, but Nami had sensed the change in the atmosphere before they went through with it. Calling commands to halt the advance, she had explained the situation to Smoker and told him that she had a plan. Taking a risk, he'd allowed her command of the ship.

A few well placed cannon balls had the pirates sailing straight into the oncoming hurricane. When it had cleared, they'd pulled the pirates out of the water and arrested them. Well, the ones that had survived, anyway. Nami had been sick that night, knowledge that she had sent many men to their deaths keeping her awake. Tashigi had comforted her, saying that it was good she felt sick. It was when you didn't feel sick, that you knew you were turning into one of the murderers they hunted.

The report was sent to HQ and three days later Captain Hina's ship came into sight, prepared to take their prisoners and bringing the news of Nami's promotion. She stayed to watch the ceremony as Navy law demanded at least two officers to witness a promotion of any significant rank.

Men on the ship brought Nami out of her reverie, each congratulating her. Beginning to sail with all men except Tashigi had been difficult but after a few well placed kicks they had quickly learned she wasn't one to be messed with.

A call interrupted the celebration. "Marine ship off the bow!"

Smoker and Hina shared a look before he called up to the lookout, "What branch?" There was a pause before the lookout answered, his voice shakier than it had been.

"Vice Admiral Garp, sir!" Everyone froze for an instant before running in all directions, cleaning the deck of cannon balls and other unnecessary items. Nami, slightly confused at the rush and panic everyone was displaying, simply fell into rank by Tashigi. When the other marine ship drew alongside of them, everyone saluted as one. A gang plank clattered onto a railing and over came four men.

Two, Nami was sure were apprentices, both in the awkward stage between being lanky and muscular. The other two men wore coats with Justice emblazoned on them. One also wore a dog hat that Nami assumed was the commander of the ship, considering its similar figure head.

"Smoker, Hina! Hope you don't mind the visit." Both Captains dropped their salute, Hina smiling lightly while Smoker scowled.

"I mind. Why are you here?" Vice Admiral Garp laughed heartily, most of the men on deck jumping at the sound.

"I brought a gift from HQ. Where's this prodigy navigator of yours?" Nami stepped forward.

"Sea- uh, I mean Petty Officer Nami, sir." Garp didn't seem to mind Nami stumbling over her words and gave her a once over. After a few moments of silence, the air became tense and Nami worried she'd done something wrong.

The other man that stood with Garp hit him in the shoulder. "Wake up sir." Garp jumped and looked around before gaining his bearings.

"Oh, I fell asleep." Nami tried to stop her jaw dropping open. This was The Marine Hero? He seemed more like someone's crazy grandpa than the man who had hunted the Pirate King. "Anyway," he snapped his fingers and the pink haired boy that stood behind him stepped forward, a wooden crate in his hands. "Dr. Vegapunk heard about that pretty little girl of yours. Said he wanted her to try this and report back on how he could improve it."

Smoker's eyebrows raised and Nami looked between the two men in confusion. She'd never heard of Vegapunk and had no idea what he'd be giving her. Or why he would give something to her of all people. She was, after all, just a newbie marine who simply had a talent for navigation.

The boy opened the lid and revealed three short, blue poles layed in a bed of straw, slight bulbs settled on one end of each. Reaching down, Nami picked up the envelope that sat at the side of them. Taking out the wad of papers, she read the first few lines before stopping with a gasp.

She raised her head to look at Garp. "This… this isn't possible. How could anyone create something like this?"

"Vegapunk is the best inventor in the world, and he works for the Marines. He needed someone to test his newest creation." Garp shrugged.

"Why me?"

"I just do as commanded. Vegapunk was specific. You and only you were to be allowed to use this. There are strings, of course. You have to write a report for Vegapunk on what you used it for and how it works and such things every few months." Nami nodded and Garp turned away, walking back towards his ship.

"My work here is done. Good luck with that weapon." In a few moments, they were gone and Nami remained, staring at the pieces of paper in front of her, each detailing various mechanics of the staff.

"What is that?" Tashigi asked, coming to look over Nami's shoulder.

"It's a weapon to let me control the weather." Her eyes roved the paper, coming to rest at the top. "It's the Clima-Tact."

* * *

 **A/N: Well, hope you enjoyed this! Short, but I think it works. I'll try to have the next chapter up soon but no guarantees. Also, shout out to The Great Marv for responding to a few of my questions about their review, and shout out to TheGalacticKitten for reminding me that even though you guys aren't as vocal as some of my readers on FF, there are still people reading this on oa3. Final shout out to yukino76, matt, VoyagersUnite¸ for the regular support in reviews and comments. Thank you to everyone who reviews or comments, I love you all so much and I can't wait to hear what you all think of everything coming up! Now, for the responses to my guest reviewers:**

 **Guest** (#1 sep 1): -I have a feeling that the next supernova we meet is going to be Hawkins or Law

-Killer seems like he will be the BW agent

-I was going to say that it might be Urouge but then I remembered there's the Sky Island Arc

-Actually, now that I'm looking at the Worst Generation wiki page it might be X-Drake in Little Garden since he has the dinosaur zoan and the island is full of dinosaurs

Anyway I'm glad that we finally got a new crew member since it was way too long since the last one

 **It has been a while since our last new crewmate, hasn't it? Well, expect it to pick up. As for your guesses… I'll just say, pay attention to the title for next chapter and I know exactly when Killer is going to be introduced. As for when… 😊**

 **Guest** (#2 sep 1): Good chapter. Now I'm going to guess Drake is on little Garden and Law is on Drum. So who would be in Baroque Works... Capone or Hawkins, but killer could be a wild card... I'll guess Hawkins.

 **This seems to be the general consensus from you guys… But because I'm feeling generous, I'll go ahead and tell you that I have a very unique way to introduce Bege planned. Also, I'm glad you liked the chapter!**

 **Matt:** Which S.N will be the navigator? I mean Law will totally be the doctor and the musician will be Apoo, but none of the others scream navigator to me.

 **I actually debated between two people for navigator for a really long time, but I did finally settle on one. You may be surprised…**

 **SJkrK:** Veri n1c3b9ast0riK9

 **I'm glad you enjoyed!**

 **NEXT TIME:**

 **Baroque Works Saga; Arc 8, Little Garden: X Marks the Dino**


	12. Baroque Works Saga Arc 8

**A/N: IM BACKKKKK. Don't know for how long though. . Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Baroque Works Saga; Arc 8, Little Garden: X Marks the Dino**

"Land ahead!"

"You sure it's ahead and not to the right?" Bonney called back up to Zoro, voice snarky.

"Shut up! Don't get jealous just because I don't need some stupid needle to tell me where to go."

"You got so lost you managed to get where you needed to. That's not skill, it's luck!" Arguments like this had become common between the two, Bonney refusing to forget about Zoro's sense of direction, or lack thereof. When Zoro had asked if she would ever let it go, Bonney's voice and face had gone completely serious.

" _I will never forgive you for being such an idiot."_ Since they'd gotten used to each other's company, it had become less serious and more an ongoing gag. Every time Luffy heard them, he'd laugh and say he had the best crew. Vivi and Carue were simply lost on what to think of them, deciding to stay out of the way as much as possible.

Nonetheless, after several days at sea, Little Garden was finally within sight. And what a sight it was.

Jungle trees rose into the sky, some leaves so thick they blocked out the very sun. With Zoro calling directions- oh the irony- Bonney guided the Wolf into the river that seemed to snake in land, the water clear as crystal. Everywhere the crew looked, green flora decorated the shoreline.

"What the hell made them call this island Little Garden?" Bonney asked, Luffy and Vivi helping her bring the ship to a stop.

"Irony?" Vivi suggested, shrugging as she did.

"Oh! Look at all the weird trees!" Luffy was practically hanging off the ship.

" _ **ROAR!**_ " Luffy was so startled he began slipping off the figure head, Zoro's quick lunge the only thing saving him from falling into the river.

"What was that?!" Vivi called, head swiveling around looking for the source of the sound.

"I don't know, but I smell adventure!" Luffy sent a rubbery arm to wrap around one of the large trees, pulling himself to the shore.

"I'm joining!" In a few moments, everyone was on the shore, Vivi riding on Carue as they all followed Luffy into the monstrously large jungle.

They followed Luffy as he jumped over roots nearly as tall as him and began singing a song about islands.

"Do you know where you're going?" Zoro asked, interrupting the odd singing.

"Like you're one to talk." Zoro shot Bonney a glare.

"Nope!" Bonney rolled her eyes at her captain but said nothing further, only shooting Vivi a look when she failed to hide her giggle.

"Uh, guys. Why is there a Sea King on land?" Everyone looked to where Luffy was pointing.

Within a moment, Zoro's hand was on his sword, his eyes blown wide along with everyone else's. In front of him, rising from the treetops was a long neck the size of a chimney.

"That's not a Sea King!" Bonney took a step back, her face paler than normal.

"It's a dinosaur!" Everyone looked to the blue haired princess. "This must be a prehistoric island!"

"Prehis-what now?"

"Do to the difficulty of travel there are some islands that are extremely advanced… and some are still stuck in ancient times. This is all possible because of the chaotic climate of the Grand Line!"

Zoro turned towards Luffy, a comment at the tip of his tongue, only to stop when he noticed the position his captain was in. "Why are you climbing it?!"

"Don't make such a fuss. He's fine." Latched onto the neck of the dinosaur, rubbery arms wrapped to keep his grip, Luffy waved down to them.

"Guys! I can see two guys fighting over there!"

"Wait, _you mean this island is inhabited_?"

 **To the inhabitants of this island…**

"Let's go check it out!"

His arms stretched out far past normal lengths and he **rocketed** off the dinosaur and into the trees, leaving his tired crew behind.

"Damn it! Luffy!" Zoro smothered a sigh before it could escape and followed Bonney into the trees. Foliage seemed to be trying to stop them from getting through, leaves and vines wrapping around their legs with every step. Eventually, Zoro stepped in front of the girls and began cutting everything that was in front of them with one of his swords.

"Where did you get your swords, Mr. Bushido?" Zoro paused mid-swing to send a raised eyebrow towards Vivi. He eventually resumed his butchering of the plant life.

" _Wado Ichimonji_ ," he raised the white sword he held, "Was a gift from my old sensei. I got _Yubishiri_ and _Sandai Kitestsu_ in Loguetown before I headed towards the Grand Line. Figured I should upgrade my swords." He had come across the island purely by luck, something he was _not_ going to tell Bonney, and had traded his two unnamed blades for _Kitestsu_. _Yubishiri_ had been a gift from the owner. " _For a true swordsman"_ he had said. They all jumped over a particularly large root, Zoro and Bonney helping Vivi over as they resumed their silent march.

Somewhere, an explosion sounded, sending a quake through the ground.

… **the vegetation and animals truly seem small**

"Was that a volcano?!" Vivi asked, looking around wildly as if she could see the magma.

"I did see some really big mountains, now that you mention it." They kept going, even if it was at a much slower pace.

"WHOA!" They all shared a look at the sound of Luffy's voice before redoubling their efforts to get through the forest. Loud clanging soon flitted through the trees and, worried for the captain, they began sprinting through the forest, Zoro's quick reflexes the only thing stopping Vivi from crashing to her face.

They crashed through a final group of ferns and stopped at the sight in front of them.

Luffy stood in front of two sitting men. Only, they weren't normal men. They rose above the group of pirates, taller than even the trees.

 **An island inhabited by giants.**

"Oh, hey guys!" Luffy turned and waved at them, a big dopey grin on his face. "Meet Dorry and Brogy! They're giants." Zoro swallowed thickly but made sure his smirk was in place when he stepped forward.

"We can see that, Captain." Bonney was notably less cool at facing the two super humans, if you could even call them that.

"How the hell do you keep finding these weirdos?"

 **And it is do to the inhabitants that I've decided on a name for this island…**

"I saw them from the Dino earlier. How'd you miss them?"

"We weren't climbing on animals that should be fossilized." Zoro gave Vivi a look and she blushed and turned away. Evidently, she hadn't meant for anyone to hear her.

Taking slow steps, they all came towards the giants. Each wore some fashion of helmets and had long beards. A sword and ax the sizes of a large building sat next to them on the ground.

"Luffy," Vivi began, her voice shaking as the giants looked down at her with a mix of curiosity and amusement. "Why don't you tell us how you… befriended these men?"

' **Little Garden'. – Explorer, Louis Arnote.**

* * *

As it turns out, Luffy had simply run into the middle of a fight between the giants. After it was a draw, they introduced themselves to the rubber pirate and then… they were simply friends. Zoro was finding it harder and harder to become surprised at this boy and he'd only joined at the last island. He couldn't fathom how Bonney felt at all of these events. Based on the nearly constant sighing and eye rolls, he guessed that she was about as surprised as he was.

"But why are you fighting?" Vivi asked from where she was trying to rouse Carue. The poor duck had passed out at the sight of the warriors.

"Well, on our island there is a law," Dorry began, Brogy picking up the story.

"That says if you cannot settle a dispute, you must have a duel."

"Our god Elbaf will protect who is in the right and give him victory."

"But we've been fighting for a hundred years and it always ends in a draw!" They said together before bursting out laughing.

"So cool!" Vivi looked at Luffy like he had something loose in his head. Bonney said something about men being idiots but Zoro had stopped paying attention. He was regarding Dorry with a calculated eye. While Zoro had never met another species before, he'd heard rumors of people that were giant or people that were part fish or part demon, yet he'd never given them much thought. Now that he stood there, in front of a giant that was also a swordsman…

His hands fell to his swords but before he could step forward and do something undoubtedly stupid, a volcano went off in the distance.

"Well, that's the signal."

"Step back little ones, we'd hate for you to get hurt."

"Wait!" Vivi cried out even as the small pirate group retreated to the tree line and watched as Dorry and Brogy stood. "Why are you even fighting? You're friends, right?"

"It's no longer about who wins or loses, or even the reason why this started." Zoro watched Luffy speak with something akin to respect. If he was being honest with himself, the swordsman hadn't expected the happy go lucky boy to pick up on the true reason for a duel like this one.

"The boy is right. This is about pride!" Brogy said, and he and his long-term friend and enemy grinned at each other before speaking as one.

"And we forgot the reason ages ago!" The first clash, ax and sword each blocked by a shield, sent a gust of wind through the island that carried the sound of the giants' laughter.

Zoro watched in no little bit of awe as the giants parried and lunged at each other. A jab at the stomach was jumped over, a swing towards the head blocked by a helmet. Each attack using minimal energy and max force, all aimed for vital spots. Gusts of wind began to shoot out where the warriors met as the battle picked up force. Zoro's hands loosened as he realized what he was seeing.

While he would never run from a fight, he only went looking for swordsmen, like Dorry. But as he stood there, as he watched these two fight for all that they were worth, he had to accept the reality. Dorry had speed, strength, and a lot of skill. Some part of Zoro knew, if he fought with the giant as he was now, he would lose.

Could Mihawk fight giants? Could the Strongest Swordsman in the world fight on equal footing with swordsmen from _all_ racists? Was that what it meant to be the best? Zoro let his swords settle at his side and crossed his arms. He hadn't managed to find the hawk-eyed man in all his travels but that didn't mean he had given up. He was still near the entrance to the Grand Line, he might find him. But if the distance between them was as great as the distance between him and Dorry…

A hand settled at his shoulder and he nearly jumped as he faced Luffy. The captain was grinning like an idiot and didn't say anything, but Zoro understood the message anyway. _Get stronger if you want to beat them._ That was exactly what he planned to do.

When Zoro re-focused on the fight, he found both giants in the midst of collapsing to the ground, their weapons gone.

"73,466 fights…"

"73,466 draws."

* * *

"Well, they both seem alright. Not that I'm a doctor." Vivi began grumbling as the giants picked themselves off the ground. After rushing forward towards their collapsed forms, both giants received a quick check up.

"Gabababa! You all are certainly interesting. What do you say about staying for dinner?"

"Good idea! We can cook up some dinosaur meet for you and it'll be delicious!" Luffy grinned at both giants.

"Sure! Come towards our ship, I think we have some drinks on it."

Bonney nodded a confirmation and soon the group made their way towards the river that the Wolf was docked at. On the way, Dorry and Brogy kept their promise and managed to kill a few dinosaurs that soon became the main course.

"So, you guys just live here by yourselves?" Bonney asked, her mouth full.

"Well, there's one other person on this island. Has been for a while. But as long as he leaves us alone, we leave him alone so we don't know much about him." Dorry nodded his agreement and Zoro piped up from where he sat at the base of a tree, sake bottle in hand.

"Just one person? What is he doing here?"

"Waiting for his Log Pose to set, I think." Everyone nodded for a moment, as if this was normal before what Dorry has said caught up to them.

"W-wait," Vivi began, slightly fearing the answer. "You said he's been here for a while… How long does it take for the Log to set?"

"One year," they answered in unison.

"We. Are. Fucked." Bonney cursed, Zoro silently agreeing with the assessment.

"We can't stay here that long! My kingdom…"

"Yeah," Luffy said, swallowing the current platter he was eating off of before spitting it back up with a cough. "Staying here for a whole year would get kinda boring. Any other way off the island?"

"Well, we have an Eternal Pose to Elbaf, but that won't do you much good."

They all sat silent for a moment before Brogy said, "You could always try sailing to the next island by lettin the currents guide you." Both giants began laughing, Luffy joining in. Bonney rolled her eyes and slapped her captain upside the head.

"We can't do that, moron. That's a death sentence in the Grand Line, especially considering we don't even have a navigator!"

"That's right! We were wanting to get a navigator at this island. Hey, giant guys! Is the guy you were telling us about a navigator?" The giants shrugged in response which didn't seem to affect Luffy's hopeful expression.

"Let's go look for him!" Luffy bounded to his feet and everyone, some more reluctantly than others, followed his lead.

"Here, Dorry, have the last bottle of rum." The last 'bottle' was passed between giants and Dorry downed it in one gulp without any hesitation.

"Ah, that was del-!" He stopped talking as an explosion rocked him, coming from the inside of him. His body crashed to the side, narrowly avoiding hitting the Wolf. The Straw hat crew all scrambled to their feet, shouts flinging through the air.

"Dorry!"

"It was in the rum," Brogy turned to the pirates. "Someone put something in his rum."

Vivi backed away and Bonney took a step in front of her. "It wasn't us, Brogy. We have no reason to do this." Brogy seemed to struggle with this, but eventually his axe lowered back to his side. Zoro hadn't even seen him pick up the thing.

"You said there was someone else on this island, right? That means it was probably them." Luffy's own face was dark, and absently, Zoro thought that they wouldn't be recruiting the man on the island after all. _Too bad, a crew of three isn't much._

"Have you all considered that perhaps there is someone on the island that you do not know about?"

"Wow, Luffy that was actually a good point." Bonney turned to Luffy, surprise painted on her face.

"I didn't say anything." Everyone looked to each other, but no one seemed to have spoken the words.

With a whirl- and some crushed trees on the giants' parts- everyone turned to face the forest where a single man stood, leaning casually against the trees. He was tall, blonde hair peeking out from the bottom of his black hat, an odd thing whose bill came over his face in a point and had a mask wrapping around his eyes. Blue pants and a short blue jacket lined with white fur covered most of him, revealing a large X tattoo on his chest. At his side, two hilts shined in the bright sun, but Zoro couldn't quite see what kind of swords he used.

"I'm guessing you're the mysterious guy that's been staying on this island?" Bonney took a step forward hands spread towards the ground.

The man swept his eyes over the group leisurely, pausing on Luffy and Zoro. "Name's X Drake. I didn't touch the rum, but I may have an idea as who did." No one said anything, and Drake seemed to take this as an invitation to speak. "Two people landed on the island earlier this afternoon. Only an hour or so after you did. I'd suggest you look to them for the culprit."

"So, you're a good guy." Drake raised an eyebrow as if Luffy's statement made little sense, but he shrugged anyway.

"I do not subscribe to the belief of good vs evil. But if your meaning is that I am not an enemy, than I suppose you are correct.

Luffy's face went serious for a split second as he regarded Drake, as if he was trying to read the stranger's soul, before his rubber face broke into a grin. A tingle went down Zoro's spine and he realized, that was the face Luffy made before 'recruiting' him. Zoro looked to Drake, and he only hoped that his new crewmate could use those weapons.

"Hey, how about you show us the way to those people, so I can kick their asses?" Drake narrowed his eyes before turning with another shrug.

"Very well, I have nothing else to occupy my time. This way."

"I'll stay here with Dorry," Vivi said, standing by the giant that, while he had blood dribbling from his mouth, was now sitting and still breathing.

"I can-"

"No!" Vivi interrupted, hands landing on her hips. "Between Brogy and the Straw Hats, everything will be fine. You just stay here and rest." Dorry stared down at Vivi for a long minute and Zoro saw her pale, perhaps realizing she was scolding someone 20 times her size. Just when Zoro thought the tension would snap, Dorry burst out laughing.

"Very well, little one! I'll let your friends handle it." Before the crew could actually follow Drake into the forest, another voice spoke up.

"I think that would be rather rude, actually."

They all turned once again, finding a lanky man leaning against the trees. His clothing was simple, pale pants and a blue striped shirt. "You won't be 'kicking my ass' today, I'm afraid. Though, it's so nice to find 240,000,000 beries just sitting here, waiting to be claimed."

Zoro blinked even as he reached for his swords. He wasn't the best at math, but he knew that Luffy and Bonney's combined bounties didn't go anywhere near the number the man was stating. His eyes swept over those he was unfamiliar with; the giants, Drake. Somehow, the three of them had very, very large bounties on their heads.

Luffy took a step forward, fists clenching. "Are you the one that hurt Dorry?!"

The man regarded Luffy with distaste, as if he was a bug that needed to be stepped on. "Yes, though you ruined my plan. I'd hoped for the giants to fight and capture them after they were weakened. But, no matter. I-"

"You!" Vivi gasped, taking a step back as her fingers looped into her peacock slashers. "You're Mr. 3!" Mr. 3 sneered at the princess.

"And you are the Crown Princess of Alabasta Kingdom. Are we done stating obvious facts? I'd like to capture you all before the sun sets."

"So, he's a bad guy." As if to prove Luffy correct, Mr. 3 sent a wave of white towards everyone. Luffy and Zoro jumped into the air, followed by Drake. Bonney, Vivi and the giants, however, were too slow and their legs were soon encased in iron-hard wax.

"Hey! What was that for?!" Luffy rocketed towards Mr. 3, his face and rubber body making a loud thump when it came into contact with a hard white wall.

"Imbecile, my wax is hard as iron. It can't be cut or smashed." Zoro darted forward, swords slashing only to be blocked much how Luffy was. In retaliation, Mr. 3's arm swung forward past his own make-shift shield, and Zoro's legs were soon trapped. He began tipping and he crashed onto the ground with a grunt. Luffy launched himself again only to stop abruptly.

"Captain, what are you doing?" Bonney called from where she lay on the ground, much like Zoro. "I'm hungry so hurry it up."

"I don't want to."

" _What?_ " Bonney stared at Luffy with shock and no little anger plain on her face. "What do you mean _you don't want to_?"

"I know I should be helping you, but I don't want to."

Before Bonney, or anyone else for that matter, could become more enraged, a little girl stepped forward from the tree line.

" **Betrayal Black**. He was easier than I thought he'd be." Everyone stood frozen as Luffy did nothing to try and fight. Mr. 3 began a long monologue about his superiority and the futility of Vivi's mission.

Bonney opened her mouth to complain about his annoying voice- honestly, couldn't he take the three steps forward it would take for him to be within her range?- but Luffy's body flying over her and slamming into the _White Wolf_ drew her attention to Drake. He stood where Luffy had just been a minute ago, arms crossed over his body.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" Bonney and Zoro stared at Drake as he turned to face them, pointing towards his feet his only defense.

Luffy stood up from where he'd slammed into Wolfey, brushing dust off his clothes. "Thanks." Bonney sputtered some indignities before finally registering the paint mark on the ground next to Drake. Her eyes swirled to the little girl holding a paintbrush.

"Not a problem."

As if on a cue, both Drake and Luffy lunged towards the pair of Baroque Works agent. Another wax wall intercepted them and Mr. 3 took several step backs. "Brute strength won't save you." Ms. Goldenweek splashed yellow paint on Luffy's back, the rubber man dissolving into laughter.

Drake reached over and ripped Luffy's shirt off, the laughter stopping abruptly. Ignoring the thanks he received, Drake growled and changed. Zoro's breath caught as the human became larger and wider until he towered over the humans, the giants the only thing stopping him from being the largest creature the swordsman had ever seen. The green dinosaur- for that was the only thing he could be- pivoted on his legs and his tail swept out, sending the little girl crashing into the trees.

With his partner now out of the fight, Mr. 3 seemed to be reconsidering. He took a few steps back and turned but before he could get very far, Luffy's voice rang out.

" **Gum-Gum rocket**!"

 **X Drake and Luffy vs Mr. 3 pair**

 **Winner: X Drake and Luffy**

X Drake turned to the Straw Hats and giants that were stuck in wax and stepped on the white substance, it began cracking with the weight of a dinosaur. Soon they were all free and Drake began to shrink, his clothes still intact despite the size changes he'd gone through.

"That was awesome!" Luffy charged up to the man and grinned widely. "Hey, Dino Dude, join my crew!"

Drake blinked in surprise and Zoro wondered if he was raising his eyebrows under the mask. "A bit odd to invite someone onto your crew without knowing him first."

"Nah, you're a good guy. Plus, that transformation was super cool! Hey, can you navigate? 'Cause Bonney says we need a navigator."

Drake turned to the pink haired woman who was dusting dirt and wax off of herself. "This crew doesn't have a navigator?"

"Don't even get me started on that."

"So, are you a navigator?" Zoro asked, coming closer and regarding Drake with interest. He could see the man's muscles despite his lean form and he could now tell that only one of the handles on Drake's hips led to a sword. The other was a well maintained, four bladed battle axe. Interesting choice of weapons, even if he had nothing else going for him.

"No, I specialize in fighting and intelligence."

"That's okay, you'll have a lot of fun on the crew." Luffy grinned, jumping up and down repeatedly in front of his newest crewmate.

Drake looked him up and down. "How'd you get a bounty?"

"Made Smokey mad."

"Smokey…" Drake looked confused for a moment before something must have clicked. "You mean Captain Smoker from Loguetown?"

"You know him?" Bonney asked, looking over from where she was inspecting the ship. When Drake had sent Luffy flying, some boards were damaged and would need to be fixed before they left the island.

"I specialize in information," Drake repeated. Bonney's eyes narrowed but she allowed him to continue uninterrupted. "I'm not surprised you gained a bounty if you managed to escape him." He paused, eyes roving over the Straw Hat pirates, before returning to Luffy. "Why do you sail?"

Luffy grinned without a second of thought. "I'm going to be the Pirate King!"

* * *

Perhaps it had been a rash decision. He had been on the island for a year, waiting for his Log to set and it finally had. Only for _this_ to be the pay off. Then again, Drake was beginning to think rash decisions were his trademark. It was a rash decision that led him to investigation... _those_ reports. It was a rash decision that led to him in Sengoku's office, a stack of papers in hand. It was an even rasher decision that led to taking a ship and sailing away to an island that he knew no one would find him at, nothing but his Log Pose and instincts to keep him company.

But this was a rash decision that was turning out differently than the others. The ship was modest, smaller than any Marine ship or any galleon he'd seen. But the _White Wolf_ , as he learned it was called, still felt… he supposed to word was cozy. Maybe even like a potential home, if he was feeling generous. Of course, he was rarely that generous.

The captain, if he could be considered that, was boisterous, childish, naïve. The lookout, a drunk swordsman who appeared to have a fetish for weights. The cook, a curvy woman with an insatiable appetite and looks that could kill yet also felt oddly protective. And finally there was the princess.

Drake knew who she was the moment he saw her on Little Garden. After all, he'd seen her before when he'd stopped in the Kingdom of Sand to restock. A young girl who ran around town like all the other commoners, the only difference the armed guards that followed her. He wasn't surprised she didn't recognize him, he didn't even think she'd seen him that day. Still, it was a heart stopping moment to see a princess of an allied kingdom on a pirate ship. At first, he thought perhaps she was there by force. But, no. She was at ease, more a friend than an unwilling guest.

It wouldn't be until much later that night that Drake would learn why she was there, what that despicable Warlord was doing to her country. Just another example of corruption, he'd think as Vivi would explain the situation. Just another reason to prove he was right to leave his friends, his home. It wouldn't be until much later that night that he would rethink all the choices that led him to where he was. Finding those reports, meeting _that_ woman. Realizing that what he was fighting for was all a lie. Facing his boss, then his mentor. Fleeing to the sounds of cannon fire chasing him.

It wouldn't be until much, much later that night, that Drake would lay in a hammock, gently swaying with the ship, that he would close his eyes. It would only be in the middle of the night, snores of his companions accompanying his thoughts, that he would consider just how long this rash decision would last. That he would think about what would happen when, inevitably, he was forced to run away from another home.

If only he knew what was coming.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Guest (#1 chapter 11 on September 8** **th** **)**

Kid as navigator would be amusing, epically with his devil fruit. He might mess the logpos with his fruit lol

 **That's… actually an interesting thought. Can he raise the magnetism around him so much that it registers as an island? Than again, does he have power of magnetic fields, electromagnetism or can he just turn his arm into a giant magnet? Things to consider.**

 **Guest** **(#2 chapter 3 on September 8** **th** **)**

Hey, I'm really loving this story! It's so good and Bonney being one of the first to join is absolutely great! Can you please put the characters in the tags though? You don't have to give out lots of info, just Luffy and supernova's or just the supernova's. It'd made it easier to find the story so next time I come back I can read it again. And once I remember my password, I'll be able to subscribe!

 **I'm so glad you're enjoying this! And I'm so sorry! I totally forgot to add tags here before hand, but that has been rectified. There's a limited number of characters I can add so I did the supernova's and then some of the lesser used supernovas. As for your password, I think if you still have the email you used, you may be able to recover it or change it. Either way, I hope you find this story again!**

 **Thank you all so much for the support! Please review or comment if you're enjoying this, it really makes it all so worth it. Haven't even started the next chapter and one piece Big Bang is coming up and I've decided to enter so things may be slowing down even more.**

 **NEXT TIME:**

 **Baroque Works Saga; Arc 9, Drum Island: Death Wears Surgical Gloves**


	13. Baroque Works Saga Arc 9

**A/N Updated 6/4/19**

 **I've compined the two parts into one chapter so it's easier.**

 **Most of the stuff is down at the bottom, but thanks to the-bucket-lover for being a great beta. Check them out on tumblr. Please review and comment, you know how much I love it!**

* * *

 **Baroque Works Saga; Arc 9, Drum Island: Death Wears Surgical Gloves**

In hindsight, it earned Bonney's respect. The same way Luffy had earned her respect; begrudgingly, without her realizing it, and maybe, _just maybe_ , reminded her of another man that she had looked after and had chosen to pursue his dreams.

It was an almost epic moment. But in the instant, it made her want to kill him.

He knew that he would lose. He knew that he might die. _He did it anyway_.

Drake was quiet but fit in the crew fairly well. He knew how to sail and was even able to point out some weather patterns that Bonney had no idea about because- despite what Luffy and Zoro seemed to think- _she was not a fucking navigator_. So, she had no problem with the guy, even if he was a little suspicious.

They were using Drake's Log Pose, the freak had managed to survive Little Garden for a year. Drake had a basic knowledge of a lot of the islands in the Grand Line- something else she found rather odd- and said that it should take about a week to get to the next island. Of course, that wasn't fast enough.

It was only the first day that they were out, the feeling that the giants were behind them still settling over the crew, when another ship appeared on the edge of the horizon. Zoro, who had been snoring heavily a mere moment ago, called down that a ship was approaching.

"Marine?" Drake asked, putting down the newspaper he'd been reading. Zoro jumped down from the crows nest, his feet landing with a thump.

"Too small. I think there's only one person, but I can't tell who it is just yet." Luffy sat on the figure head, leaning so far forward that Bonney was worried he'd fall into the ocean.

"Whoa, are those candles green?" Bonney squinted with Vivi and the rest. The boat was getting closer and they could just make out the shape of it. Small, single black sail, green candles. Honestly, it looked like a coffin. In it, sat a single man, what appeared to be a giant cross on his back.

Zoro sucked in a deep breath when the man's face became visible. He stepped forward, ignoring the questioning glances from his crew. "Dracule Mihawk!" Bonney knew the name, Vivi had mentioned it when they were talking about the Warlords. Even if that hadn't been the case, only idiots didn't know the name of the World's Greatest Swordsman.

"Who's he?" Bonney nearly slapped Luffy but held back. Showing discontent among the crew in front of an enemy like this was a horrible, horrible, idea.

Drake answered for them. "A Warlord. And the World's Greatest Swordsman." Luffy's head turned and he shared a look with Zoro. Somehow, she knew that whatever their silent conversation entailed, it would be important. It took one horrible moment for her to understand as Luffy stepped back and crossed his arms, his smile bright on his face. Zoro smirked and stepped forward.

" _I will become the World's Greatest Swordsman!"_ That's what he had said when he'd first joined. He wanted the title that Mihawk held. The title he would hold until he lost.

"Captain, no! He can't wi-!" Luffy's arm landed over her mouth and she was so startled that she didn't even pull away.

"I will not stop him from pursuing his dream." His eyes were shadowed by his hat which made something coil tight in Bonney's stomach. He only did that when it was serious. "No matter what." Luffy's hand left her face and returned to his crossed arms. She could see how his body tensed at every step forward Zoro took. How his hands clenched when Mihawk lifted his head to watch. She knew he didn't want to watch his lookout and friend get hurt. But, he couldn't stop him either.

Bonney took a step back, her hands landing on her dainty hips. "Aye, Captain."

* * *

Drake's eyes slid from where he watched the interaction between Bonney and Luffy. It was odd, seeing a captain put his trust so deeply into a man that was so clearly going to lose. Drake had no doubt that Roronoa was strong. Just not strong enough to go against Hawkeye.

Zoro was standing by the figure head, his back straight as he tied his bandana over his head. It wouldn't give him the strength to survive this encounter. It wouldn't save him from Hawkeye's known ruthlessness.

It seemed that Drake would lose a crewmate before he even really knew the man.

* * *

Zoro was thrumming with energy. It had been years. Years and he'd finally gotten here. He'd finally found the World's Greatest Swordsman. Some part of him hesitated for a split second, some animalistic instinct who wanted to live. Zoro pushed that down and tied his bandana around his head.

"Dracule 'Hawkeye' Mihawk!" Said man regarded Zoro with a bored face. "Duel me."

Hawkeye regarded him cooly, eyes bright in an unnatural yellow. "I have nothing better to do, so I suppose why not." Zoro took another step forward but hesitated. Where, exactly, were they going to fight? He didn't want to damage the Wolf, she was already looking a little worse for wear, what with the broken figure head and mast, not to mention Luffy did some serious damage when he went flying into her. Dracule's boat was also a no go, the thing was tiny, big enough only for one person. That was, until the thing rose from the water.

As it turns out, the little coffin that Mihawk sat in was actually attached to a slightly bigger submarine. While small, it could still hold basic necessaries like kitchen and latrine. It rose from the water a little bit more, metal gleaming with salt water as a deck settled just above the water. Scuffs and cuts marred the surface of the deck. It seemed that Hawkeye was used to, and prepared for, challengers.

Zoro jumped onto it easily, as Mihawk stood. Zoro's grin faltered at the pocket knife Mihawk brandished. "Take this seriously."

"Would you hunt a rabbit with a cannon?" Zoro growled low, but lunged anyway. He was stopped easily by Mihawk. He danced back a few steps and the swordsmen regarded each other.

"A true swordsman can tell the difference in power just by looking at someone." Zoro nodded, a feral smile stretching across his face.

"You're right, but that doesn't mean I won't fight you." They continued to exchange blows- if it could even be called that. In truth, Zoro would send his best attacks only for Mihawk to counter with a bored look at his face. Zoro's rage got the better of him and he lunged wildly. Mihawk stepped past his guard with maddening ease, and blood dripped down Zoro's chest. Despite what his instincts were screaming, Zoro did not step back, even as cool metal pierced his flesh.

"A little further and I would pierce your heart. Why do you not back down?"

"I feel like if I take even one step back, I would fail those who are important to me. I feel like I would never get back to where I am now."

"That is the nature of defeat." They stared at each other, and something silent and unreadable and infallible passed between them. In the end, it was Mihawk who took the two steps back. He drew his sword, and they charged at each other.

A strangled gasp was heard from the deck, echoing the sounds of dripping blood. At least _Wado_ was okay. Knowing he'd lost, Zoro sheathed his katana. Was this the true strength of the greatest? Was this the man who could best anyone, from any race? He faced Mihawk once more.

"What is your name, little rabbit?" Zoro grinned again, his smile feral and untamable.

"Roronoa Zoro, and I _will_ be the World's Greatest Swordsman."

Mihawk's lips quirked up. "I will remember it." Blood flew and Zoro fell onto unforgiving metal.

His three companions were next to him in an instant.

Luffy's face betrayed the rage he felt, and even Bonney felt tears wet her eyes. "He will live, if you get him to a doctor."

"We don't have a doctor." Mihawk looked to Drake, head tilted ever so slightly in suspicion. Whatever he was looking for, he didn't voice.

"There is an island that way," he pointed roughly east. The same general direction the Log was pointing, only a little more to the right. "You'll find someone to save his life there." It took a mere moment to transfer Zoro to the deck. Before they took him further into the ship, he awoke. Tears stained his face, and his raised sword glistened in the sky.

They all froze, surprised he could move even that much. Bonney saw the way his arm trembled, and for a beat it was so silent she could hear his tears hit the deck."Luffy! I swear to you, I won't lose again." Surprisingly, his voice was solid, not a single doubt tainting it. Bonney wondered what it was that drove him, that made him so sure that it was his destiny to stand at the top. "Not until I'm standing where he is. I _will be the Greatest Swordsman._ Is that alright with you, Pirate King!?" Luffy grinned and nodded, relief plain in his face.

Mihawk's own ship began to retreat, again no more than a coffin floating on the waves. But his voice rang out once more. "See the world and get stronger! I'll be waiting for you at the top. Surpass me, Roronoa Zoro!" He'd barely heard the words, but Zoro knew he'd never forget them. Somehow, he'd earned his enemy's respect.

Even so, Zoro didn't stay conscious long enough to decide whether he was happy about how things turned out.

* * *

Drake was… he would use the words mildly impressed. Others may use the word gobsmacked. Roronoa had survived Hawkeye. It was possibly the greatest achievement any swordsman could have. Well, besides being the World's Greatest.

The green haired man now lay in the worryingly small infirmary, buried under three pounds of bandages. That was pretty much the only thing they could do for him. The only one on the ship with any sort of medical experience was Princess Nefertari. Even that was basic field aid, meant to keep the victim alive for a short amount of time while doctors were called. The only issue would be the lack of doctors to be called. Drake guessed they had three days, max, to get Roronoa help.

Of course, then there were the others. Captain Monkey rotated between being convinced that his first mate would survive, "Zoro's going to be the World's Greatest Swordsman so he's not going to die, yet" and hovering like a worried hen along with Vivi. He also kept telling Bonney to feed Zoro meat, as if that would solve anything.

As for Jewelry, she was never without some form of food in her hands, snarling if she thought anyone would try to steal it. Even the princess, who was usually able to calm and distract the cook, couldn't get near her. The only way Drake got close was by needing to plan on how to get to the island Hawkeye had directed them towards. Even then, he thought he'd lose a hand.

The lack of a navigator was sorely felt and when snow began to fall and didn't seem to be letting up, they became worried that ice would freeze them in place. Winds and currents were in their favour though and they'd only been sailing for a day when something glittered on the horizon.

"I see something," Drake intoned. Luffy came bouncing forward, Bonney close on his heels.

"Land?" they asked. Drake shook his head, squinting at a shapeless spot on the ocean.

"I can't be sure, but it seems to be…" he leaned slightly forward, head tilting to the side as the ship came closer to the form hovering over the water. "A person?" Drake blinked again, shifting to ensure his hat wasn't distorting his view.

A few yards in front of the _White Wolf_ , a man shifted from foot to foot. "Cold weather we've been having, huh?" Drake immediately stepped back from the white rail, hands snapping to the weapons at his side.

The man was standing on water.

He was _standing on the water_.

It didn't matter how many strange things Drake had seen, anyone who could stand on water was someone to be wary of.

"Are you standing on the water?! How can you do that?" Of course, the Captain would never have enough common sense to be wary.

Jewelry took a step towards the door leading to the infirmary, so casual it couldn't be anything but planned. Good, at least someone on this crew was smart. The man didn't note the movement, only regarding the three pirates. The princess was still with Zoro in the sickroom, a small mercy. Drake shifted his hands to have a better grip on his weapons as the _White Wolf_ began to shake violently.

"What the fuck is happening now?!" Bonney's hand shot out to land on Drake's shoulder. Luffy stumbled but quickly regained his balance.

Waves rose and crashed around them, a large metallic ball rising from the deep as if from some legend. The man who had been standing on the water rose with it, wooden planks solidifying under him. In another moment, the metal plating began to open, sides falling away like blossoming petals to reveal more metal and wood.

"That's a… ship?" Bonney stared before turning to Drake. "I'm not seeing things right?" He didn't comment on her asking him instead of her captain, not when said captain was staring up with stars in his eyes. Instead, he simply shook his head and took several steps away from the railing as another wave came crashing over.

When the wave cleared, the crew of three were not the only ones on deck.

As guns clicked and swords were drawn, the Straw Hats shifted back to back, each surveying what was happening. "We're trying to get to Drum Kingdom. Where's your Log Pose?" It was a rotund man that spoke, some sort of metal covering most of his body as he munched on a dager.

The captain opened his mouth to speak but Drake stepped forward before he could, ignoring the indignant squawk that Luffy let out. "We've never heard of this Drum Kingdom." A lie, but Drake recognised the man before him. Wapol of Tin, also known as Wapol the Tyrant. He rarely left his island, only to partake in Reverie, really. If he had left so fast that he hadn't even brought an eternal pose with him, than something must have happened to scare the coward.

"Pity." There was no such thing in his face. Drake had heard the stories about Drum, how the once peaceful nation had become oppressed and poor from Wapol's rule. An old fire lit Drake's blood at the thought that the Government would do nothing to stop such things, but he squashed it before he did something stupid. "We'll just have to take the ship then."

"Like hell you are." Luffy's voice seemed to be all they needed, for in the next instant Bonney was lunging forward to the sound of rubber snapping and babies wailing. Captain Monkey launched himself into the fray, arms swinging. Drake soon followed, tail and claws swinging with speed that had earned him his epithet.

"What annoyances." Drake turned in time to see Wapol open his mouth. He shouted a wordless warning but was too far to stop it as the tyrant consumed a chunk of the railing.

Bonney screeched from where she fought against a group of plebs. "You asshole! How dare you hurt the ship!" Wapol was hunched over with age in the next instant, mouth still full.

"Bonney! I wanted to fight him!" Blocking out the sound of the captain's whining, Drake stepped forward, tail swinging. It connected, and Wapol flew until he was little more than a shining dot on the horizon. His crew scrambled off the Wolf, shouting threats and profanities as they raced after the king.

* * *

With Luffy and Vivi- the latter being briefed on what happened- still in the sickroom, Drake and Bonney were left to patch up Wolfey and keep watch. "I can't believe it. He took a fucking bite out of my goddamn ship. I won't forgive them." Bonney shook her head, hammer hitting only a tad harder than necessary.

"It was the power of a devil fruit." She looked up at where Drake held the wooden plank, brows raised. He was silent for a moment, no doubt deciding what information he was willing to share. She tried to stamp out her annoyance.

"If you didn't want to share your information you should've stayed silent." Just because she tried doesn't mean she was effective. His infuriating blank face didn't help her attitude.

"My information is my own. Why would I give it all away so easily?"

"What I cook is my own. Why should I bother sharing?" She felt his attention shift to her but she didn't bother facing him as she continued the repairs.

"You're the chef. It's your job."

"It's kinda the same thing, dumbass. Plank." They were silent for a moment longer, the rail of the Wolf slowly taking form.

"The Captain is…" Drake trailed off and Bonney didn't bother hiding her eye roll.

"A dumbass? Incompetent? Naive?"

"An unusual choice for captain." He was looking at her with surprising intensity and she realized he was waiting for her opinion. Was this how he got information? Stare at people until they were so uncomfortable that they just spilled everything?

Because it was working.

"I was the first crew mate he picked up. We kinda just… ran into each other. He asked me to join and I had nothing better to do so." She shrugged, nonchalant in a way she wasn't sure Drake believed. "I've been here since."

"I suppose that makes you first mate. Even though you joined a man you didn't know and followed him into a world full of terrors."

"Hey, you did the same thing so don't give me shit." His lips twitched and Bonney knew she had him there. "Plus, I'm not first mate. He's never really… named a first mate."

"He should. Something like that is important for a crew to stay safe."

"Yeah. I just figured we'd get more crewmates before I pushed the whole 'assigned roles' thing." Another beat of silence before she placed down the hammer and nails, facing her crewmate fully. That's what he was now, she reminded herself. A crewmate. Someone that would stand with them when they fought. Someone that would protect them when they couldn't protect themselves. Or, at least, someone that should.

"Sometimes I think we should get someone who is more leader material but… Luffy doesn't know how to lead. He doesn't know how to give orders, how to plan battles. He's obsessive, brash, and by all rights there's no way he should be able to survive on this sea."

"So why do you follow him?" Drake's face was guarded but there was an underlying curiosity that made Bonney speak with startling honesty.

"He doesn't know how to lead," she repeated, "But he knows how to inspire loyalty and make friends. He knows how to protect those friends. And I think that might be even greater than the best leadership skills or the most amazing battle plans."

They finished the repairs in silence.

* * *

Luffy spoted land the next morning.

He was jumping up and down on the figurehead, Drake standing nearby to assure he didn't fall into the water when Bonney began to speak.

"You know we don't have time to go on some long adventure right? We have to get Vivi home." She waited, but Luffy makes no indication that he had heard. He continued going on about a kingdom of snow.

"Don't worry about it." Vivi walked up, stopping Bonney before she could start slapping her captain around. "If the snow takes his mind off of Zoro, than it's fine."

"How is he?"

Vivi's blue hair falls in a wave as she tilts her head. "He's as stable as I can manage. He should be okay to be moved to a hospital but…" White teeth came out to chew on her bottom lip.

"But you don't know for sure," Drake finished from where he stood. Before more could be said, they were entering a river, Bonney and Drake working to avoid ice blocks. It was not long before they were dropping anchor.

"Get off our island!"

Only to be surrounded by shouts.

* * *

"Stop right there!" Vivi joined the pirates on the deck, Luffy looking out at the forms growing on the shore line.

"Oh, people!"

"Turn around pirates!"  
"We don't want your kind here!"

"Hey wait," Luffy stepped forward, hands braced on the rails. He heard shifting feet behind him but he ignored where he knew his crew stood. "We have someone that's really hurt! We need a doctor."

"We won't fall for your tricks!"

"You have bounties, I recognize your faces!" As if the words were some kind of signal, the citizens began to fire. A bullet landed not two inches away from Bonney's foot and Luffy saw red. He took a step forward, fists clenching on his side. More gunfire filled the air, but before he could retaliate, a body was slamming into him from the side.

"Luffy, don't!" Red was leaking down Vivi's shoulder, the blood sticky on Luffy's hand when he gripped her. "Violence won't solve anything."  
"They hurt you." Bonney's voice was midnight smooth and Luffy was suddenly glad that the bloodshed it promised was directed at the idiots that had shot his friend. He would not want to fight Bonney.

"You don't deserve to be captain, Luffy!" That froze him where he stood. He knew he wasn't the best at planning or thinking things through. He never really saw the point, things tended to just work out for him. Still, Luffy wasn't what most captains were like. He wasn't like Shanks, not in the way it really mattered. Even Gramps knew how to lead, as weird of a thought as that was. But Luffy… Luffy just wanted to have adventures and protect his friends. That's what mattered, wasn't it?

"Zoro is hurt, if you can't put aside your own wants for his life than you have no right to call yourself a captain." Then Vivi was dropping to the ground, her shoulder stained red while she pressed her head to the ground. Vivi's words rang true. They even reminded Luffy of something Drake had said when they'd first left Little Garden.

 _Luffy called for Bonney to make food, his stomach grumbling in agreement. Drake leaned on the railing, as far away as he could get from Luffy and the rest of the crew. Ignoring the body language as was his norm, Luffy bounded forward._

" _Drake! How is it you can turn into a dino?!"_

 _The newest Straw Hat regarded Luffy with very little interest. "A devil fruit." When nothing further was said, Luffy prodded Drake until he turned a raised eyebrow towards his captain. Where Luffy expected more details, he found the conversation going in a very different way._

" _You do not act like a captain."_

" _What's that mean?"_

" _It means you are naive and far too willful to lead an entire crew full of people into a battle. You realize that these waters are dangerous, do you not?"_

" _That's part of the adventure!" No reaction followed his words and slowly his face turned serious. Luffy's head tilted to the side, his signature hat moving with him. "If you think that, why'd you join?"_

 _There was a pause, and Luffy could tell he was surprised at the words. Honestly, people didn't give Luffy enough credit. He may not be good at a lot of things- that's why he needed a super awesome crew- but he could act serious. Sometimes._

 _The silence continued, until finally, "I have nowhere else to go. I could've stayed on Little Garden forever but… this seemed like a better alternative."_

" _This crew is a family," Luffy began, ignoring Drake's startled look. "The_ White Wolf _our home. When it comes down to it, I'm captain so I have to make decisions." Luffy grinned, wide and uncontained in a way he knew made some people uncomfortable, "But until then, we can all act however we want."_

Luffy dropped down next to her. This was one of those serious moments, he realized.

"Please! If we don't get a doctor soon, our friend is going to die!" It was weird, Luffy thought, that he was aware of everything even as the deck of the Wolf was the only thing he could see. He could sense Bonney and Drake behind him, both tense and prepared to fight if any more shots were fired. He could feel the town's people shifting, doubting what they were seeing.

It was perhaps the longest minute of Luffy's life.

"Bring your injured to my house."

* * *

It took some careful maneuvering and a stretcher made of Zoro's swords and a few blankets, but eventually they got Zoro to the man's house. On the way, Vivi stayed between Bonney and most of the townsfolk. It didn't take long for Bonney to realize it was because she was glaring. Not her fault, she knew exactly which one had fired the shot that hit Vivi. Had marked the pale skinned, stout man as soon as blood stained fabric. Bonney had a feeling that Luffy wouldn't stop her if she decided to get revenge.

By the time they got inside and Zoro was laid on a bed, Bonney had learned the man's name was Dalton, this country had no name and no king, and three more very important pieces of information, each making her want to scream at the idiocy of this country.

They had three doctors on this island, a 140 year-old witch, a yeti type monster, and an evil surgeon who liked to take people apart for shits and giggles.

There was no way to contact any of these doctors.

All three doctors lived in a castle at the top of a mountain that was basically sheer rock.

Honestly, Bonney shouldn't be surprised. She just _had_ to join a crew captained by an idiot with the worse- and at the same time, the best- luck ever. Of all time.

Said idiot captain was stepping towards Zoro's prone form, slapping him awake.

"Nng."

"Zoro, all the doctors here are crazy but we have no choice so we're taking you to see them. But they all live at the top of a super steep cliff, so we're gonna climb it."

"You will do no such thing." Drake frowned at Luffy, arms crossed. "If he moves too much, he will die." Bonney opened her mouth to agree, but was cut off by Zoro himself.

"Aye… aye, Captain." His breathing was labored and he had to pause before he finished but, he had spoken. Zoro had basically been in a coma the past few days, never managing to speak or even become aware of those around him. Fever had set and Bonney could barely get him to swallow a few mouthfuls of broth every day.

In the end, Vivi stayed in town with Dalton- Carue had been left to guard the ship- while Bonney and Drake joined Luffy on the trip up to the doctors, Zoro himself tied to Luffy's back using enough rope to hang the entire Navy.

* * *

"I hate this country."

Drake found himself inclined to agree with Jewelry. Large, white rabbits were standing in front of them. Carnivorous rabbits, he'd like to add. "These must be those Lapins we were warned about." The Captain shifted, Zoro's weight more than likely starting to bother him. "Might I suggest we take them out?"

"Probably a good idea. You clear a path, I'll stay close to guard Luffy incase any make it past you."

"I want to fight too!" Bonney frowned at the captain, though she didn't hit him.

"No. Too much jostling and Zoro could die." It seemed to sober Captain Monkey up, and he nodded.

Before they began to move, the mountain looming above them, a thought occurred to Drake.

"Why don't you simply turn them all into children, Jewelry?"

"Can you stop using my last name? God, just call me Bonney, it won't kill you." Drake said nothing, and Jewelry's deep sigh filled the air. "My power only works on humans. No bunnies, no bears." Her eyes shifted over to him with a glare. "No dinosaurs." Drake let the implications sink in. Was he immune to her all the time because he was a zoan user, or just when he was in his dinosaur form? What about his hybrid form? Now that he thought about it, on the way here Bonney turned Luffy into a child in a fit of annoyance but Drake had never been affected by her powers. Perhaps he had simply never annoyed the woman enough for that, though he sincerely doubted it. Jewelry became annoyed rather simply.

"Yo, idiot! Stop thinking about whatever and start destroying some rabbits!" Like right now. Regretting his choice in companions, Drake obeyed.

* * *

"Of course there's a goddamn avalanche! We can't catch a fucking break." It was all those rabbits' fault. Bonney always knew bunnies were evil. They were too innocent looking not to be.

"Less complaining, more running." Bonney almost thought Drake was making a joke, but his face was still as serious as always. As she was running for her life, her crewmates in tow, Bonney wondered if Drake had something living up his butt. It would explain a lot of things.

Her thoughts on the matter were stopped short when the avalanche caught up with them and everything went dark.

* * *

When Bonney awoke, a shoulder was digging painfully into her hip. "Cap...tain?"

"Don't worry, everyone's gonna be fine." Luffy was red faced, breathing labored. Not that surprising considering the fact they had all been buried under snow not so long ago. Zoro and Drake were also flung on Luffy, the captain standing at the foot of the mountain, blowing warm air into his hands. Bonney knew she couldn't climb that cliff. She couldn't even wait down here and watch Drake. Already, darkness was encroaching on her vision. Her stomach was growling and she didn't have much more strength. Still, before she fell unconscious again, she gave her captain one gift.

* * *

Luffy was so grateful his friends were strong. He had been worried, when he went looking for them in the snow. They were still breathing, though. So they would be fine. Zoro had stayed attached to Luffy through the fall and he found Drake and Bonney soon enough. They were all breathing. They'd be fine.

Even when the annoying guys showed up- who knows why, weren't they pirates?- Luffy managed to avoid them. The Lapin that he'd helped from the snow even came to help him. That was nice of them. He'd almost lost his grip on Drake while he was dodging, but he managed. They'd all be fine, as soon as they got to the doctors.

Luffy was extremely grateful when Bonney woke up, even if it was just for a second. She'd managed to transform herself into a child so they were much lighter to carry, though Zoro was too injured to risk the transformation. Luffy smothered the whispers in his head about how people shouldn't sleep in winter countries. His friends would wake up. They had more adventures to have, after all.

The climb was brutal and Luffy was worried he'd lose a hand. Even if he did, it'd be worth it. Shanks had lost an arm for him, so Luffy was willing to lose a hand if it meant his friends would be okay. By the time Luffy pulled himself over the final edge, he was barely breathing, the cold making him numb. He made sure to take a few steps away from the ledge. Bonney was always mad when he stood too close to the railing on Wolfey, and he thought this was a similar situation. He'd never tell her, but Bonney scared him sometimes with the way she got mad. After she had realized that Zoro could swim, she'd gotten a lot more lax with him about falling into the water. If you could call her turning him into a child and than punting him a fall.

The ground swelled up under Luffy and he collapsed, barely making sure he didn't crush his back-to-normal crewmates. Snow crunched somewhere and Luffy thought he could make out voices. Or maybe that was the wind.

"...survive?"

"Hypo..."

"Take the… No, Chopper."

"Yes, Doctor Traf…"

"Infec…"

Three voices, though Luffy thought he could be wrong. Dalton said there was three doctors though, so maybe he wasn't hearing things. Eventually dark pants came close enough for Luffy to make out the general shape of someone. A man, tall and thin but that was definitely muscle filling the white coat.

"My crew…" Luffy had to stop and breath, air trying to force its way down his ravaged throat. "Save them."

The man looked down on him, a dark smirk filling out his pale skin and fine features. Suddenly, Luffy remembered what Dalton had said. That one of the doctors was known to enjoy cutting people up for amusement. "My name is Trafalgar Law. Don't worry, I'm a doctor."

* * *

Zoro was warm and comfy, which was probably what woke him up. No pain, no agonising injuries to keep him asleep. Which just seemed wrong somehow. Hadn't Hawkeye cut him deep enough to be near death?

Hawkeye.

Just like that, the ach in Zoro returned. He'd lost. He'd failed at his one goal. Except…

Except, Mihawk had told Zoro to come for him again, when he was ready. To get stronger and prepare. Which was something Zoro couldn't do laying around in a bed.

With a grunt to mask the pain, Zoro began to push himself up, eyes roving around the room.

"Stay in bed. If you open your stitches again, I'll let you bleed out." Zoro stared at the man, a doctor he'd guess. Tall, thin with pale skin and dark everything else. Not to mention a deadpan expression to war against Drake's own.

"Again?" The man came forward, checking Zoro's pulse, fever and stitches as he spoke.

"When I first finished your surgery, you began thrashing and reopened the wound I had just closed." He smirked, and regarded Zoro with a glint in his eyes that made Zoro miss the previously bored face. "I contemplated letting you bleed out but than I thought that would be a pity, considering your crew has a collective bounty of 140,000,000 beries."

"Bonney and Luffy's bounties aren't that high." The Doctor raised an eyebrow, amusement dancing in his eyes.

"Were you not aware that 'Lightning Claw' X Drake had a bounty?" Zoro blinked. Lightning Claw? Damn, was Zoro the _only_ person on the crew that didn't have a bounty or an epithet? That would have to change. Soon. "Apparently not." Zoro scowled, not pleased with being able to be read so easily by someone.

"You wouldn't have let me die either way. Don't doctors take vows of 'do no harm'?"

"I never took that vow. I see no issue with harming others should the need arise." Wasn't that just great. Zoro's doctor was a psychopath. Before more could be said, the door to the room opened and inside came a small child.

"Doctor, Doctress wanted to know if the patient needed another dose of antibiotics." The child came towards Doctor Psycho- as Zoro had dubbed him- with a bundle of what could only be more medicine.

"Yes, go ahead and administer it, Chopper." Chopper stepped forward to Zoro's side, stepping close slowly, as if Zoro would attack him.

"You're not human." The tanuki jumped back, stumbling to the doorway where he hid. Or tried to.

"Chopper, you're doing it wrong. You're also wasting time." Doctor Psycho frowned, hand tapping on his crossed arms.

"What's a tanuki doing here?" Zoro asked.

"I'm a reindeer!"

"Who is also a doctor," Law added. Before they could be further derailed by this conversation, Zoro took the medicine that Chopper offered, not questioning his species further. After Little Garden, Zoro wasn't even surprised anymore.

"Zoro!" Luffy burst through the door, hand on his hat and arms and feet wrapped in bandages.

"So the idiot did manage to survive."

"Seems so." Bonney and Drake filled in after him, each coming over to look at the injured Zoro. Chopper excused himself, slipping out of the room before anyone else could take notice of him.

"Of course I survived." Bonney rolled her eyes, but then her face darkened. She leaned forward from the foot of the bed, eyes narrowed.

"You do that again, and I will feed you to Luffy." The room was silent a moment longer before Zoro nodded and the tension drained away.

"Good."  
"Now that Roronoa is healed-"

"For the love of god Drake, will you just use our first names?"

"We should get a move on. The news from Alabasta is… not good."

Zoro again began to get up only to be stopped by a hand on his shoulder. "I repeat, you are not leaving this bed. If you do, it will be in a body bag."

"Aw, come on Traffy! Zoro will be fine, Bonney will give him lots of meat."

Zoro was pleased to see the doctor's eye twitch. "First off, Mr. Straw Hat, for the last time, my name is _Trafalgar_. If you can't pronounce that, address me by my first name, Law. Secondly, Mr. Roronoa will be going nowhere. You have no doctor on your crew, and _meat_ ," he hissed, "Is not a proper treatment."

"Food always makes me feel better." Trafalgar turned his glare on Bonney, which she returned. After a few tense seconds, Law was the first to look away.

"Not a treatment. If Mr. Roronoa opens his wounds and no one on your crew can treat him, he will die. End of discussion."

"Then join our crew!" Seeing Law open and close his mouth like a fish was ridiculously amusing, but Zoro soon found himself focusing more on what his captain had said.

"If Mr. Creepy joined we could leave now? I'm for it."

"Trafalgar seems more collected than Captain Monkey. It would be nice to have someone else sane on the crew."

Bonney nodded with Drake before adding, "Having a doctor is important. The fact that he's creepy might help keep away bounty hunters."

"Hey, what do you mean having someone sane? I'm a great captain!" Luffy pouted as Drake and Bonney simply stared at him before returning their attention to Law.

"Can you fight, at least?"

"Of course I-" Law shook his head violently before regarding the Straw Hats. "I am not joining your crew."

"That's what I said." Zoro smirked at the glare he received for that one.

"So, it's decided! Traffy will be our doctor." Luffy received nods all around, except from Law himself.

"My name is _Trafalgar Law_. And no, not decided. I didn't agree to this and I'm not going to."

"Law, take it from me. Luffy decided you're joining, so you're on the crew." Bonney shrugged before adding, "Oh, and the men's quarters only has hammocks so if you want a bed or a cot or something you'll have to bring one yourself." Law opened his mouth to deny the need for such a thing because he was most certainly not joining- _he's in the denial stage_ , Zoro thought to himself- when Chopper burst into the room.

"Wapol is back!"

* * *

"Who's Wapol?" Luffy asked, head tilted as Chopper stormed back out of the room.

"The man who attacked our ship out at sea." Luffy nodded along with Drake until his gasp filled the space.

"He attacked me while I was carrying you guys on the way over here! Oh, he needs to pay." When the dust from Luffy's departure had cleared, Bonney and Drake shared a look.

"Should we go help him?"

"No," Law answered, walking calmly out of the room. "This is no business of yours. Wapol is the enemy of this kingdom, there's no reason for a pirate crew to get involved."

Bonney snorted and followed, Drake remaining behind with Zoro. "Idiot, that 'enemy of the kingdom' bullshit won't stop Captain Luffy. Wapol pissed him off, so his ass is gonna get kicked. That simple." Law didn't bother to reply as they stepped outside of the castle into the battle that had already commenced.

* * *

Law would describe himself as a man capable of a great many things. Surgeries, battles, paperwork- though he despised it- were all things that he could do. He was intelligent, well versed in the ways of the world. What he wasn't, was easily surprised. Yet, the Straw Hats deemed it necessary to make him reevaluate that statement.

First, there was the captain climbing nearly five thousand meters of bare stone. Carrying three passengers, he might add.

Then there was Roronoa Zoro who by all means should be dead. Or at least in a coma. But no, after a surgery, enough pain meds to sink a battleship, and what Law guessed to be two days at sea with nothing but basic field help, he was fine. He'd make a full recovery. _If_ he didn't pull his stitches.

Next was Miss Bonney who, despite even Roronoa claiming he was creepy, didn't seem affected by his demeanor at all. She also didn't seem inclined to believe that Law wouldn't join their ragtag crew. Bonney's very attitude made Law's hair stand on end. There was something about her that just didn't seem right. Law tended to stay away from the soft sciences like psychology, but Jewelry Bonney made him want to dust off his psychoanalytical skills.

Finally, there was the visage in front of Law. Wapol with the captain of these idiots _in his mouth_. Bonney seemed unworried, just making comments about how even she didn't eat that hideously. Though she did make a side comment questioning if Chopper's body was still made of reindeer meat and therefore if he was edible when he was in his human form.

"This is becoming ridiculous." Law stepped forward, interrupting the tirade of ways Bonney wanted to cook Chopper. His hands spread and a blue sphere appeared around them. " **Room**." Luffy was standing next to him a second later, Wapol too busy choking on a rock in surprise to wonder how it was done.

"Wow! That was so cool, Traffy!" These people must truly be getting on his nerves because he didn't bother trying to correct him.

"So you have a devil fruit. Which one?" Law ignored Bonney, though he did catch what sounded an awful lot like "How dare he ignore me? That's just rude." Somehow, he knew that was going to come back to bite him in the ass.

"You! Who are you and how dare you stand with these criminals!" Law regarded Wapol with a smirk and raised eyebrows.

"I have no problem being a criminal." He'd certainly done it before. "Though I do have problems with you coming and stealing my lab."

Law's smile grew as the king sputtered in rage before ordering his two lackies to take care of Law and his "no good enemies of the crown". With no small disgust, Law and the others watched as Wapol swallowed his two generals, before spitting them back out as one comedical entity.

"Chopper," he was breathing hard from the beginnings of his fight with one of the idiot generals, but he seemed to be alright. "Can you handle Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dumber?" Chopper nodded, crunching a rumble ball before lunging after the generals. Law knew he should probably learn their names, but they were just so stupid he couldn't be bothered to care.

"What kind of devil fruit is that?"

"The **Munch Munch Fruit** ," Kureha answered, appearing next to Bonney and Law soundlessly. "Essentially, he eats something and then he can morph that something to his body." Straw Hat didn't seem to care, his fists shooting forward barely fast enough to avoid getting them eaten. He also didn't seem to notice the negative fifty degree weather, despite only being in a tank top and shorts. That is, until he paused to take a breath.

"So cold!"

"Idiot! Are you just now noticing that?!" Bonney huffed before removing her own heavy jacket, revealing a white t-shirt underneath. "Take this, you moron. I'll just head back inside and make sure Zoro doesn't pull anything or get lost."

Law tilted his head to the side, regarding her with lifted brows as Luffy did as he was told. "How would Mr. Roronoa get lost, exactly? You can see the entrance of the castle from the door to his room." Bonney just huffed and walked away, speaking over her shoulder.

"You'll learn soon enough. Don't worry."

Law shook his head and returned to the fight. Luffy and Wapol seemed to be trading punches, nothing but taking measures of each other, Law was sure. Chopper, on the other hand, seemed to be raining fury on his enemies.

"How dare you take over His Majesty's castle!"

"This is the resting place of Doctor Hiriluk! I won't let you tully his memory!" Chopper snarled, more animal than human in that moment. The double warrior had recovered quickly after finding that Chopper had more than the generic three transformations of a Zoan, and they didn't slow their attacks as he jumped in the air.

The rumble balls had been an interesting discovery. By the time Law arrived to the island, Chopper had already mastered them, but that didn't stop Law from studying them. They seemed to mess with the lineage factor of the consumer, allowing the devil fruit to control even more of the user. It was genius, and powerful. Though Law had never seen anyone but Chopper use them, he knew how to make them and was sure he'd eventually find a willing Zoan to test his theories.

"Move out of the way." Wapol appeared, mouth gaping wide. Before he could swallow Chopper whole, Law's hand spread and a blue light appeared. Chopper was switched with his enemy, Wapol swallowing his own super general before spitting them back out.

"How dare you!" Instead of attacking Chopper as expected, Wapol turned his sights on the roof of the castle where a flag stood proudly in the win.

" **How dare you!** " As Chopper was attacked by the Tweedle Dumbs, too busy with them to fight Wapol, Law saw something from the corner of his eye. Turning, he found Straw Hats rubber arms snapping together and sending him flying. He caught the flag before it could fall to the ground.

"Hey! Fat Mouth!"

"What did he just call me?!"

Straw Hats face was twisted and set in anger. "A lying poser like you, who only played at being pirates without risking anything, could _never understand_ _ **the meaning of a pirate flag**_!" Chopper stumbled from shock at the words, nearly careening into the generals. Law found himself with much the same reaction.

It was rare, even for pirates, for anyone to speak of the importance of a pirate flag. After all, what were they besides marks of your allegiance?

"A pirate flag," he went on, "Is a **symbol of conviction**!" At that moment, Law felt like his jacket was burning a hole in his back.

" _I will find you a cure, Law. Just hold on a little longer._ "

"Hey, Law." Surprised enough at the sound of his actual name, he looked up into Luffy's face. "I'm gonna kick their asses. After that we're getting out of here." Part of him wanted to contradict him. He was Trafalgar D. Water Law and he'd sworn never to be controlled by anyone again. And yet…

Somehow, Law knew he was screwed. The conversation from earlier replayed in his head.

" _I'm not joining."_

" _That's what I said." Zoro smirked at the glare he received for that one._

" _So, it's decided! Traffy will be our doctor." Luffy received nods all around, except from Law himself._

" _My name is_ Trafalgar Law _. And no, not decided. I didn't agree to this and I'm not going to."_

" _Law, take it from me. Luffy decided you're joining, so you're on the crew."_

So this is what they meant. Law made a mental note to ask for stories about how they all joined. He had a feeling they would be interesting tales. "Very well, Captain. Though, know that if I ever doubt your ability to lead, I _will_ take over." Luffy grinned, nodded once, and launched himself at Wapol and the fights picked up again.

Chopper was fast, but he still ended up taking a few hits. After a particularly nasty one that would bruise horribly, Chopper transformed into his brain point, hands forming a window as he spoke. "My name is Tony Tony Chopper, and the greatest doctor in the world gave me that name! As long as the Doctor's flag flies, I won't lose!"

"Big words, but can a monster like you back them up?"

"The world is filled with monsters, Doctor Trafalgar showed me that. I don't mind being one if it means that I can protect what I love!" Chopper transformed once more, arms coming together.

" **Kokutei Roseo**!" The attack connected, and the two generals collapsed to the ground. Luffy began spouting praises but Law spoke up over him.

"Shouldn't you be fighting Wapol?" Straw Hat looked around, noticing Wapol's absence. Before Luffy could flip out, with a roll of his eyes, Law spread his hands again, Wapol appearing in front of Luffy.

"What?! How did I get back here?" He jumped up, turning on his heels and running into the castle again. "I will get the armory and then you will never be able to stop me!" He reappeared, a thin layer of snow vanishing under him. "Stop this nonsense!"

"Mr. Straw Hat, speed this up. I can't keep this up forever, you know."

"Shishishi. Thanks Law!" Sputtering, Wapol tried to open his mouth and devorer Luffy once again. Straw Hat was behind him before he could move, arms twisted and body spinning. " **Gum-Gum Bowgun**!" Wapol went flying, narrowly avoiding hitting the group of people that was beginning to cluster on the edge of the cliffs.

"Oh, hey Vivi!" Luffy came bounding forward, grin plastered on his face. "I got a doctor!"

Not missing a beat, she said, "That's very nice, Luffy. Who are they?"

"I believe he's referring to me. I'm already regretting my choice and we haven't even departed yet." As Law came forward, the townsfolk stepped back, some even beginning to shake.

"It's Death," one of them whispered.

Law smirked, turning his eyes to them. "Have you all come to volunteer for some tests?" A few outright ran back to the rope car at that.

"Of course Luffy would choose the crazy one. Why didn't you recruit the cute reindeer? Or the Doctress? She seems way better than this bastard." Bonney threw her arms around Vivi, eyeing her from the side to make sure she wasn't hurt. Drake and Zoro were filling in spaces around their makeshift circle.

Law let out a huff that was suspiciously close to a snort. "Kureha is a crazy old hag that has no business on the sea." He ducked, predicting the mace that came flying at him from behind. Luffy wasn't fast enough, but the weapon only caught his arm slightly before falling to the ground. Everyone ignored it, much to the horror of what few civilians were still watching.

"They're monsters."

"And as for Chopper, he's a great doctor and he'd work fine on your crew, but has no experience."

"You do?" Law's deadpan was back in full force as he looked at Drake.

"Yes." Silence fell between the two. The rest of the crew turned to asking Luffy about the fight but Drake and Law simply stared at each other.

Law remembered the news article that was released with Drake's wanted poster. It was hard not to. A Rear Admiral leaving the navy wasn't something that happened every day. Law wondered if the rest of the Straw Hats knew his background.

"That's an interesting mark on your jacket. Doesn't 'Corazon' mean heart?" Law made sure his lips twitched into a smile, made his eyes sparkle with the promise of death.

"You have a very high bounty for so early on in the Grand Line. Though, I'm surprised the Navy didn't make it higher, considering." There. Drake's eyes flicked to where Luffy and the others stood. So they didn't know. Well, Law supposed he wasn't the only one keeping his past secret after all.

Another moment of tense air passed before, by some unspoken agreement, they nodded to each other and turned to the others.

Law knew what conclusion Drake had come to, wrong as it was. It didn't matter, Law didn't bother with the correction. Let him think what he will. Law's past was his own and he wouldn't go around whoring the story to those that didn't concern it. Besides, as long as Law knew Drake's little secret, they were fine.

* * *

It wasn't that Drake was hiding his past, it was just not something he wanted to talk about. Ever. He'd been betrayed by the Government, the very institution he believed in, being nothing more than corrupt politicians playing at gods. That wasn't something he wanted brought up. Besides, many people knew about him. Well, they knew some things. He'd been in the papers before, a Navy officer rising in ranks. Then, he was a wanted man. The Marines had only said that he was a traitor, not what his crime was, so he was safe from that being leaked by Trafalgar anyway.

Though, Drake wasn't worried. He recognized that word, 'Corazon'. It was a title, really. Held by one of the top operatives in the Doflamingo family. Why Trafalgar had it on his back wasn't too hard to figure out. Still, most operatives don't go announcing it to the world who they were. If they did, it certainly wasn't without the Jolly Roger on their backs. Some things didn't add up, but that was no matter. Drake still had contacts in the Marines and Cipher Pols. He'd simply ask them to do a little digging as soon as he got the message out.

While he was at it, he may ask about the rest of his crewmates. After all, he wanted to know who he was traveling with and there was something about Jewelry that just didn't seem right. And could Captain Monkey truly be that naive? Who knew what any of them were hiding?

* * *

Law turned to look at where Roronoa stood, arms crossed and not wearing a shirt. "First rule of being my patients," he began, unsheathing the long sword that he held and pointing it at Zoro. "You don't get up until I tell you or you'll find yourself in pieces."

Zoro ignored the threat, his eyes gleaming. "You're a swordsman."

"Correction, Mr. Roronoa. I'm a surgeon. I am skilled with many sized blades. Now, go lay down or face the consequences." Zoro huffed, rolling his eyes.

"Please. I'm perfectly fine." Not bothering with another warning, Law showed that he would, in fact, follow through with his threats.

What followed was the explanation for the Straw Hats' on why Trafalgar Law was known as a surgeon of death.

* * *

It wasn't difficult to get down the mountain. They simply used the ropeway that Vivi had taken up. Zoro was put back together, though he moved significantly less afterwards.

Law used the trip on the way down to explain the generals of his devil fruit and was introduced to the powers of the rest of the crew. He was also introduced to Princess Vivi who wasn't part of the crew but was in fact being helped by them. Why a pirate crew was helping a princess was beyond Law, the only explanation he got being "because she's our friend". He decided not to argue.

They wasted no time boarding the ship, Law being shown the infirmary- he decided not to mention how pitiful it was. He made a note to figure out who the shipwright was and ask for edits to be made.

They set sail, which is when Law figured out that they didn't actually have a navigator. Or a shipwright. At least they had a cook, though she seemed to eat most of what she made.

It was as they were sitting on the deck, Law becoming exhausted at the idiocy of the captain already, when they heard cannons going off. They turned their heads to the island that they were sailing away from, watching as snow went from white to pale pink.

"They look like cherry blossoms." Law had to agree with Bonney. It was beautiful.

Somehow, he knew that Chopper and the Doctress would be just fine.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Don't hate me for how long this took. Please? Next one is gonna be a mini series chapter featuring, you guessed it, Chopper! And Law. Backstory time. Kinda. Next actual arc is gonna be an original arc so feel free to take guesses on what that will be about ;P. Come see me at tumblr (kilannad) if you want. Send me an ask or just watch for updates I post about this stuff.**

 **Matt:**

So who'll be the navigator of the crew? I mean Luffy's and Zoro's places in the crew are as canon while Bonney is in Sanji's, Law will replace Chopper, Brook will be replaced with Apoo, which leaves 6(7 if you're including Blackbeard) on the crew.

 **You'll have to wait and see ;p. Though, Blackbeard will NOT be on this crew. He's part of the worst generation, not the supernovas. There's a difference.**

 **Guest** chapter 13 . Oct 31

Next will be Law, right?

 **Here he is! I hope this lived up to expectations.**

 **NEXT TIME:**

 **Mini Series- Checking in with the World, Chapter 5; The Tale of a Monster**


	14. Mini Series Ch 5

**A/N: HOLYSHIT I LIVE. Explanations are on Tumblr (kilannad). Usual shoutout to my beta, the-bucket-lover. Leave a review or comment if you're feeling generous!**

* * *

 **Mini Series- Checking in with the World, Chapter 5; The Tale of a Monster**

Trafalgar D. Water Law was not a pleasant man and no one would accuse him of being one. He'd been traveling for a very long time, searching for something he couldn't even name and never quite finding it. After Rosinante's death, Law had spent a great many years traveling all over the North Blue and, eventually, the beginning of the Grand Line.

Law… wasn't sure what he wanted. Well, no. That was a false statement. He knew exactly what he wanted; Doflamingo's head on a spike. What he didn't know was how to go about achieving that dream. In the end, he decided to continue to study medicine and improve his devil fruit abilities.

Still, it didn't matter how many hospitals he researched at, or how many times he had to defend himself or flea from the Navy when his "miracle powers" started to draw attention. There was always something missing. Some small itch that he couldn't quite scratch. Eventually, that phantom itch would lead him to an island called Drum Kingdom.

And that, is really where his story started.

* * *

Law's ship, a small, nameless thing, barely fit for the Grand Line, desperately needed repairs. Not that he cared to keep the thing. Truly, he had finally landed on Drum and that was all that really mattered.

The island was well known for its medical advances and Law hopped that he would find what he was looking for here. And even if he didn't get that damnable itch to go away, at least he may find some interesting techniques or medical texts. Of course, that hope was soundly destroyed when he actually bothered speaking to the inhabitants of the island.

"What do you mean it's _illegal to be a doctor_?!"

"Well, Wapol, the King, made a law that said only his hundred personal medical team were allowed to practice. About six years ago, all the other doctors were hunted and executed or otherwise driven out of the country." Law wasn't quite sure how to respond to such information. He'd stopped in a small pub, surprised at the obvious hard times that had hit a rather famous island, and began speaking to the barman. Law's appearance clearly made several people uneasy, not that he cared or was surprised. While the tattoos on his chest and shoulders were covered by his thick white coat, a man with the word DEATH scrawled across his knuckles tended to draw attention.

"So there are no true doctors left?" What a waste. To have a center of learning be destroyed by a corrupt tyrant. Not that Law was surprised no one did anything to stop it. The World Government was known for its amoral officials and worthlessness.

Someone else sitting at the bar coughed and shifted beside Law. "There's the witch, but she's Wapol's number one most wanted."

The barman looked supremely uncomfortable and quickly excused himself to help other customers. Law switched his full attention to the new stranger, fingers tapping at the glass he was holding. "Oh?"

"Kureha, I think her name is. There are some weird rumors about her, but she's the only surviving doctor that doesn't serve the king. She's mostly seen in the forest to the west of here, but I'd be careful approaching. They don't call her a witch for nothing."

Law nodded his thanks, downed his drink, and quickly made his exit. He doubted this would lead to anything, but he'd come all this way so he might as well meet this "witch".

* * *

As it happens, some of the "rumors" that the stranger had mentioned actually entailed a yeti. Well, to those less educated, it was a yeti. To a well traveled, accomplished doctor and combatant that happened to be a devil fruit user? It was actually just a talking reindeer. Law wasn't entirely sure which was stranger.

In the end, Law had quite literally tripped over the small creature during a stroll in the forest. Tony Tony Chopper, as Law later learned the reindeer was named, had been gathering herbs and had been so distracted he hadn't heard Law approach. After a large back and forth of yelling and Tony attempting to hide (please note the word choice; _attempting_ ) Law finally managed to connect the fact that Tony's abilities came from a devil fruit and that he was an apprentice to the infamous Dr. Kureha, aka the Witch of Drum Kingdom.

It was even rather easy to get to the hollow tree that Kureha called a home and introduce himself. After a lot more yelling, some flung maces, a great deal of negotiating and proving his worth, Law finally managed to worm his way into studying under Kureha. Turns out, a woman who had lived for over a hundred years knew quite a lot.

Tony remained distant, jumping and leaving whenever Law entered a room. Law didn't think much of this, most people did not appreciate his looks or his self defined "creepy" aura. It wasn't until about a month after Law had come to Drum that he truly understood why, though.

* * *

A week or so before hand, word had gotten out that another doctor was studying with Kureha and Law had quickly become a wanted man. Nothing new, and he certainly didn't care, so in the end it didn't change much. Except for the fact that now he had to be slightly more careful, which wasn't something he tended to acknowledge.

He'd been out with Tony, gathering herbs and making notes of the locations of some of the rarer plants when they'd been seen by several of Wapol's men. Law had been grazed with a bullet before he could draw _Kikoku_ and Tony had immediately entered action. Law had been completely unnecessary in the battle and soon enough Tony was back at Law's side hovering worriedly.

"Oh no, oh no. We need a doctor! You've been sh-"

"Mr. Tony. It is merely a graze, and, _you_ are a doctor."

"Oh." The small creature calmed somewhat, pulling a roll of gauze out of his bag. "That's right."

Law allowed himself to be treated despite the fact that he could've done it himself. It was good practice for Tony and besides, Law had other things on his mind.

"That was… an intense reaction."

Tony froze for a moment before returning to his task. "You were hurt," he began quietly. "I… don't like it when nice people are hurt."

Law couldn't help but blink at that. "You think I am… _nice_?" It was not a word that often was used with him.

"You don't run around yelling about me being a monster, or hurt me because I'm different. So, yes. I think you are nice."

Before he could fully contemplate his thoughts, Law blurted, "You aren't a monster."

Tony jumped at that, eyes going wide. Law's shoulder was long since bandaged, yet they didn't move from their position on the ground. "I'm not a reindeer and I'm not a human. That makes me a monster." Unable to help himself, Law snorted. He quickly realized what a horrible idea that was when Tony began stepping away, so he explained;

"Being a devil fruit user doesn't make you a monster. It makes you strong. What powers you have, what knowledge you carry, those things don't make you a monster." Tony's forehead was furrowed, clearly confused. Taking a deep breath, and not having even a slight notion as to why he was doing this, Law pulled the young reindeer into his lap.

"I have met true monsters, and they looked as human as Kureha or I. A monster is someone that is inhumanly cruel, or absolutely wicked. Someone who doesn't care about others." Pink feathers and glasses flashed in his mind, but Law quickly pushed those away. _He_ would pay one day, but that wasn't what this was about. " _You_ , Tony Tony Chopper, care so greatly about others that you want to heal them. You work hard to learn and improve so that you can become a better doctor, no matter what devil fruit you have, or what your species is. That doesn't make you less of a human. It makes you _better_ than one." Law paused for a moment but than added, because Tony really needed to understand this, "There are times when I am a monster, when I stop caring about others and focus only on myself," Law was usually a monster, actually, but Tony would learn that as soon as Law found some test subjects, "And yet I know where the line is. I know what I will not do because it is simply too far. I may be a monster, but I am a monster that has a human side. That line, that knowledge of what is so wrong that you can not even contemplate doing it, is what differentiates between us and the _true_ monsters of the world." Law fell silent, letting Tony absorb the information as he began herding them both home. In the end, Tony's only words on the topic were a simple and quiet "Thank you" but that was enough. He seemed more at ease in the following weeks and he quickly became a regular appearance at Law's side. In ways, he reminded Law of Lamy, and perhaps _that_ was why Law never told him to leave him alone.

Law's itch never quite left him, but it did ease. Law chose to stay on Drum, through all the doctors' hunts and the attack of Blackbeard and Wapol's flight. He stayed all the way until a strange man with a straw hat and a crew of misfits invited him with nothing more than a smile and a demand.

It wouldn't be until several months after joining that crew, while fighting a cyborg on an island of fog and horror that Trafalgar D. Water Law would stop and wonder when, exactly, the itch constantly driving him forward had faded and been replaced with a fuzzy feeling of _home_ that had died with Rosinante.

* * *

 **A/N: Hope you enjoyed!**

 **Guest** **chapter 14 . Nov 25, 2018**

Loved the chapter Law's "recruitment" is hilarious as his wapol being kept from the armory.

 **I'm so glad you enjoyed! I was worried that scene was slightly anticlimatic.**

Matt chapter 14 . Nov 25, 2018

Wonder who'll join next and what will happen with Chopper?

 **Next chapter ;). Actually, the next one was supposed to join further down the line with another character but then I decided that I wanted him now so… As for Chopper, I had planned for this mini series to include some of what he's currently going through but I like the way it came out so I'll do another check up on him a little down the line.**

Slayer chapter 14 . Dec 15, 2018

Update soon plis

 **Well, it wasn't soon, but I hope you still enjoyed!**

 **Thank you all for the reviews and comments, it's so nice to see you all reading this! NEXT TIME:**

 **Baroque Works Saga; Arc 10, Abandoned Island: Phaedra and the Massacre Man**


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